Hate the Game, Love the Player
by Only If You Wish It
Summary: Sai, Sakura's boyfriend, wants one thing and when Sakura won't give it to him, he breaks up with her. Broken-hearted, Sakura goes out and ends up giving up the one thing Sai wanted to a devilously handsome redheaded stranger...Hiatus Sorry!
1. Chapter 1

**So, I'm having a bit of writer's block on my other stories, so I'm writing this to help get my mojo back. Also because I love Gaara and if I don't get some of these ideas out my head, I will never be able to finished my other stories.**

**First Naruto fanfic, people.**

**Full Summary: **Sai, Sakura's boyfriend, only wants one thing and when Sakura won't give it to him, he breaks up with her. Broken-hearted, Sakura goes to a club and ends up giving up the one thing Sai wanted anyway to a devilishly handsome redheaded stranger. Now, Ino, Sakura's best friend, and Sakura have started a new year at a new college and Sakura meets someone familiar. Drama? You bet cha!

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters.**

Sakura sat on against the wall in her hallway, eyes red from prior tears. _I thought he loved me. He said he loved me. Why didn't he love me? I loved him. I still love him. _

_Sai . . . . . . _

Just then the phone rang. And rang. And rang. Sakura made no move to answer it. Ino's voice rang out from the answering machine.

"Sakura! It's been weeks and you've yet to leave your house except for essentials! We're leaving for college tomorrow! I'm coming over right now and we are going out tonight! I've already called Hinata and TenTen. You better not be crying when I get there! Love you, girl, see you in a few minutes!"

Sakura slowly got up, sniffling as she deleted the message and went to take a quick shower. She came out, feeling better a little. A small smile on her face as she did her make-up.

Downstairs, the door opened and then slammed shut.

"Sakura! Where are you?!"

Sakura didn't bother answering, instead she continued to blow dry her pink hair. Moments later, the blond popped up in the doorway.

"There you are. The girls are meeting us here and then we're going to this new club. Have you picked out your clothes?"

"No-"

Ino cut her off. "Ugh, why?! Fine, I'll go do it. Hurry up with your hair!"

She left then, not leaving Sakura time to respond. The pinkette smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. No matter what, Ino was always there, and so were Hinata and TenTen.

Sakura finished with her hair and walked back into her room.

"Put this on." Ino threw her clothes at her and Sakura grabbed at them wildly before noticing what they were.

"What!? Ino, I am _not_ wearing this!" Ino smiled at the first emotion she'd heard in her friend's voice in a while.

"Then why do you have it? Just put it on, okay? You'll look sexy in it and it'll turn every guy's head. Even gay guys."

"Ino!"

"What?"

"That's mean!"

"I didn't mean it that way. Just enunciating my point. Now get dressed, I just heard Hinata and TenTen drive up." Ino walked out of the room then, closing the door behind her. Sakura set the outfit on her bed, looking at it before sighing and pulling the towel from her body and getting dressed.

When Sakura stared at herself in the mirror, she didn't recognize the girl. The black miniskirt showed off her long legs and the black and green tank showed a lot of cleavage as well as making her curves completely obvious. The outfit was totally gorgeous and brought out her eyes, but her eyes were full of sadness. Sakura turned away from her reflection, not able to stare in the green eyes of the girl in her mirror any longer.

As she walked down stairs, she was met with a group hug from Hinata and TenTen.

"Wow Sakura, you look great!" TenTen exclaimed, pulling back from the hug and smiling hugely at her. Sakura's returning smile was small in comparison.

"T-totally, you'll have g-guys all over you t-tonight!" Hinata commented, blushing a little.

"Told you, girl! You have a great body, time to show it off!" Ino said, placing her arm around Sakura's shoulders and leading her to the car. "Now let's go!"

-------------------

"Dancing, drinking, guys, what more can we want?" Ino said, taking a sip of her drink. TenTen giggled form beside her.

"Exactly, what more?" Then they burst into a fit of giggles, clearly both already intoxicated.

Just then, a guy with long brown hair walked over and smiled a very small smile at TenTen. "I believe it was fate that brought you here on the same night as I. Would like to dance?"

"Sure!" TenTen said excitedly, blushing and moving to the dance floor with him.

"He's cute. TenTen did well. Now, let's find you two some guys!" Ino said, scanning the area. "Ooo, Hinata, check out the blond at the bar!"

Hinata blushed horribly but still looked over in that direction. "The one in the orange?"

"Yes, isn't he a cutie?"

"Y-yeah, k-kinda."

"There's no kinda about it, now go talk him."

"What!? Ino I can't do-"

"Hinata, go talk to him. Trust me; he's been looking over here for awhile. Go use some of that sexy charm you have!"

"Ino. I'm not-"

"Don't argue, just go. Otherwise, I'm going to go tell him you like him."

"Ino, you wouldn't!" Ino got up and started for that way. "Ino, no!" Hinata got up and went over to the guy in the orange, blushing the whole way. Ino sat back down, smiling towards the pair.

"They're cute together, if only Hinata would accept the fact that she's beautiful. Seriously, that girl's self-esteem is too low." She looked at Sakura. "Now for you!"

Sakura looked around, trying to find anyone Ino suitable so the girl would go and leave Sakura to her own. "Hey, Ino, there's a guy over there checking you out." Sakura said slyly. Ino turned casually, looking at the boy with short brown hair. He was hanging out close to Hinata and Orange Boy, and was talking to them a little. He was laughing at the moment, his eyes flashing to Ino like he could feel her eyes. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"You're right, and what a hunk!"

"Kinda makes me think of a dog." Sakura commented.

"But dogs are so lovable!"

"Then go talk to him."

"What!" Ino turned to her, "No, I'm not leaving you here to drink all night. You're going to have fun too!"

"Ino-"

"No Sakura, come on, let's dance!"

Ino dragged Sakura onto the dance floor and soon, Dog Boy joined Ino. His name was Kiba, they learned, and Orange Boy was Naruto.

Just then they heard a girl yelled and they all looked over to see two guys in a fight. One was a guy with brown hair and the other had red hair. Brown Hair spoke, waving his hands and backing up a little.

"Hey, man, I wasn't trying to do anything, just asking her to dance! Man this is troublesome!"

"Would you calm yourself, _little brother!_" The blond girl yelled at the redhead. He glared at her and she visibly shrunk back.

He said something but it was too low for them to understand. Another brunette guy walked up and grabbed Red's arm, saying something to him. Red closed his eyes, clenching his teeth before glaring at the original Brown Boy and then storming over to the bar.

"What was that about?" Ino said.

"My guess is, the guy asked Redhead's sister to dance and Red got angry. But, that's just my guess." Kiba said. The blond chick was now talking to the Original Brown Boy and everyone had calmed down as they started dancing again.

"Well I think it's kinda sweet, how Red stuck up for his sister." Ino said.

"He asked her to dance, not to make sweet love to him." Sakura laughed at Kiba's bluntness.

"How do you know?" Sakura said, not paying any attention to the two. She was currently scanning for any guy for her to flirt with. She felt like the third wheel. Just then she spotted a fairly good looking guy. It was the brown haired guy that had broken up the fight. He saw her looking at him and he smiled, waving a beer in one hand. She smiled, got a wink from Ino, and then walked over.

"Sakura." She said, leaning against the bar and ordering a beer as well.

"Kankuro. You don't drink those stupid fruity drinks?" He slapped a bill on the table, paying for her drink. She smiled.

"Thanks and no, not enough of a buzz."

"You're my kind of girl." He said, clinking their glasses together before chugging his. He looked at her and she smiled, chugging her drink as well.

"Alright, alright. You can chug one. How about another?" He bought two more drinks and they clanged them together, a little of the beer dripping down the side. Sakura gulped this one down as well, this time beating Kankuro. He shook his head, laughing. "I better not buy you another. You might think I'm planning on taking advantage of you."

"Yeah, and I better not chug anymore. You might think I would let you." He laughed again.

"You got spunk, you know that?"

"I've heard it before." She said, ordering three shots. She smiled sweetly before downing every one. They burned trails of fire down her throat but she didn't care. The buzz was sitting in and she was feeling better, more free. Wilder.

"Woah, slow down girl." Kankuro said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "We haven't even gotten to dance yet." He whispered huskily in her ear. She smiled seductively.

"Then come on." She led him out to the dance floor as an upbeat song came on. Kankuro placed his arms on her waist and Sakura was barely aware of his chest on her back. She felt his hot breath on her neck and she ran her hands over his, feeling incredibly sexy. They danced for a while, until Sakura decided her buzz was wearing off and she needed more alcohol. Otherwise, she'd feel like crap again.

"I decided I want one of those fruity drinks." Sakura said, turning to smile at Kankuro. He rolled his eyes.

"I knew you were lying, all girls love those things." He led her to the bar, buying her a drink. She sipped at it, actually tasting the pineapple and strawberry.

"Yes, I was lying." She admitted. He smiled.

"So, you had enough alcohol?" He whispered in her near, kissing at her neck. She froze, the action causing instant sobriety.

_*flashback*_

"_Sakura" Sai whispered into her neck, pulling her closer by her hips. He kissed her neck and Sakura moaned._

"_Sai."_

"_Sakura, I want you."_

"_Sai." Sakura moaned again, high on the feelings he was giving her._

"_I want you so bad Sakura." Sai whispered, grinding his hips against hers._

_Sakura moaned at the contact._

_Sai's hands made there way under Sakura's shirt, moving up to her bra. Sakura froze like someone had thrown ice water on her._

"_Sai." She said, evenly, moving away from him. He looked at her angrily._

"_What!?"_

"_Sai, I'm not ready. I already told you, I want to wait."_

"_Well you know what? I'm tired of waiting! I want you now!"_

"_I'm not ready Sai!"_

"_Then I guess you're not the one for me."_

"_Sai! Are-" Sakura could hardly get the words out. Tears formed in her eyes. "Are you breaking up with me?" She whispered, looking at him with tear-filled eyes. He glared at her._

"_Yes Sakura, I am. Goodbye." Then he walked out of her room, slamming the door as well as slamming the main door. Sakura fell to the ground, sobbing._

"_Sai, Sai, why? Why? Was that all you wanted? Sai!"_

_*end flashback*_

"Kankuro, get away from me please." Sakura said through a strange voice. Kankuro leaned back, looking at her worried.

"Sakura? You okay? Did I do somethi-"

"I need to go to the bathroom." Sakura said suddenly. She nearly ran away from him, squeezing between dancing bodies until she could no longer see him.

"So, what'd he say?"

Sakura whirled around at the voice. She had never heard it before, but it was deep, definitely masculine, and very enchanting. Like a predator mesmerizing its prey to come closer before it strikes.

It was Red, leaning casually against the wall and looking at his nails as he flicked his fingers. His gaze flashed at her and she tensed. Eyes, so sad, so painful, so….

Evil. Eyes full of hatred. Of murder. Of anger.

Yet she couldn't help but see the sadness, the loneliness, behind those jade orbs.

"W-wh-at?" Sakura stutter, dazed.

"What did he say to you to make you run? Call you the wrong name? Tell you some old line?"

"He didn't say anything." She said.

"What'd he _do_ then? Cock a feel?"

"What does it matter to you?"

He shrugged. "It doesn't."

"I'm Sakura." She said, for no reason in particular. She just wanted to keep talking to this absolute stranger. She raised her hand to him, as if this were a formal meeting. He looked at her hand before looking back in Sakura's eyes. He stared at her before she lost her patience and rolled her eyes, annoyed. "You're supposed to shake my hand, say nice to meet you, and then give me your name in return."

"But what if I don't think it's nice to meet you?"

"Ugh! Would you just shake my hand and give me your name!?"

"Why? I didn't ask for your name. Shouldn't the giving of a name be at one's own liberty?"

"Then shake my hand!"

"What if you put a poison on your hand and you're trying to kill me?"

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" The look on his face said he wasn't. Sakura froze, her hand returning to her side limply. "Why would I try to kill you?" she asked quietly. "I don't even know you."

"Like that matters." He said, looking away from her.

Sakura studied him. His red hair and cold, jade eyes. She noticed that his hair wasn't longer on one side; there was a blood-red tattoo on his forehead. Love. The kanji for love. Such a strange tattoo to put in a strange place, she mused.

"Why'd you get that tattoo there?" Sakura asked allowed. He looked at her strangely.

"I didn't _choose_ that tattoo and I didn't _choose _the spot."

"Oh." Something in his voice told her to drop it. "So, you don't want to tell me your name, you don't want to tell me about your tattoo, anything you do want to talk about?"

"Why are you even talking to me?!" He hissed out. She didn't shrink back like he had expected she would. Instead she met his glare and shrugged.

"I don't know. You're different."

"I think everyone can tell that. I haven't seen another person with red hair yet." If it was meant to be funny, he certainly hadn't said it as such. It sounded bitter.

"I meant on the inside."

"Trust me," Red's voice lowered as he continued. "You don't want to know how I'm different on the _inside_."

She repressed the shudder that wanted to go through her. "But I do." She argued weakly.

"_Why!?_" He hissed out.

"I-…….I-I don't know." She said, looking down.

Suddenly, her chin was trust up and Red's lips crashed against hers. He quickly dominated her, one hand twisting and locking in her hair as his other hand pressed her body against his. Reflexively, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer. Thoughts of Sai and waiting left her mind as he grinded his hips dangerously and roughly against hers.

"Tell me to stop." He hissed into her ear as he let her breath. "Tell me to stop now and I might let you leave. Say it. Now!"

"Stop." she mumbled, before saying louder, "Don't stop."

"Which is it?" he said though clenched teeth."

Sakura kissed his neck. "Don't. Stop." She mumbled against his skin and he grabbed her hand, pulling her outside. He brought her to an extremely nice car and kissed her violently. Then he pulled away til his lips brushed hers as his eyes bore deeply into her's.

"Where?" She thought for a minute, distracted by his capturing eyes and their closeness. Well, at least he wasn't saying her first time would have to be in a car.

"My house." She heard herself say. She didn't want to go to his house, didn't know what'd she'd find. Didn't want to think about what she'd find. Didn't even want to think about what she was about to do. She was just knew she wanted him.

He opened her door and she climbed in. He closed the door and quickly got in the driver's seat. Sakura told him where she lived, suppressing the fact that she was in a car, with a stranger, a _obviously dangerous_ stranger, and she was inviting him into her house, telling him where she lived, to do something that she'd sworn she wouldn't do until marriage, and she'd probably never see him again. Luckily, his hand on her thigh, moving in lazy circles while occasionally squeezing hard was the perfect distraction for such thoughts.

They came to her house and she opened the door, locking it when they entered. Immediately, his hands on around her, his lips on hers. She moaned, feeling the wall on her back.

"Bedroom." She mumbled as his lips traveled downward. She felt as he bite down hard on her neck but didn't draw any blood. One thing was true, he was nothing like Sai. There would be no sudden memories to pull her back from this intendment. Not to mention that if she pulled out now there's no telling what he'd do.

He growled but lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist. "Upstairs, end of hall." She gasped out and he grunted, annoyed. He bit down again, this time drawing blood as he carried her to her room. He slammed the door, laying her on the bed before smirking at her and placing himself between her legs.

She pulled him closer, kissing his neck. She ran her hands under his shirt, feeling the muscles as he removed it for her. She ran her hands down his back, hearing him growl slightly. She smirked, empowered to be able to show some dominance over him. However, this was short live as all her clothes were quickly ripped off.

"I liked that skirt." She said, looking up at the tattered remains of the miniskirt. He smirked.

"Get a new one then." As she heard the zipper of his jeans, she was suddenly extremely nervous.

"Um….Red?"

"Red?" he said, nipping her neck.

"You never gave me your name."

"What?" He said, annoyed that she was talking and clearly wanting her to finish whatever she was about to say.

"Um, I've never….uh…..-" Sakura blushed horribly and Red froze.

"Oh no." he muttered to himself, actually sounding sorry a little. He kissed where he had bite her earlier, lapping a little at the blood. Sakura shuddered at the odd feeling and he grabbed her hips when she brushed against him. "What do you want me to do about it?" He said, sounding more like the bitter Red, but there was a little concern.

"I don't know. I hear it hurts the first time. Maybe if you could be….uh, gentle?" She would have laughed were this any other time at the thought of Red being gentle. He groaned, annoyed.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" he hissed, but she wasn't sure if it was pointed at her, or if he was complaining to himself. "Alright….just…. heck I don't know. Go with your instincts." He growled out.

And go with her instincts she did. There was the initial pain, but it soon went away and she was filled with pleasure. Red was gentle at first, but when she got used to him, he was an animal. She was sure she wouldn't be able to walk properly tomorrow but she didn't care. Moans and growls were heard as they followed their instincts that night.

It was a night Sakura would never forget.

**Alright, this is not a one-shot. Well, it's not if you don't want it to be. If you don't like, then I'll just keep it a one-shot. If you do, please review and tell me and I'll keep going. I just had to write this, or visions of Gaara would never leave me and I'd never get any writing done.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, sorry for all the issues with chapter two. I think I got it fixed. Here it is. :)**

When Sakura woke up, she found a lazy smile on her face. She stretched spread-eagle on the bed before noticing the lack of another presence.

"Red?" She asked sleepily, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. No one was in the room.

"Red?" She called again, grabbing a robe and quickly going through her house.

He wasn't there.

_Maybe it was all a dream,_ she thought, climbing the stairs back to her room. She quickly dismissed the thought though. _I'm way to sore for that to have been just a dream. Plus, there's no _way_ I could have dreamt up someone like _him.

She walked back into her room, the happy buzz from just waking up now gone.

_It was the first time I slept all through the night since _he_ left,_ she realized. _The nightmares didn't come. _Now, though, she felt herself dropping into an even stronger form of depression than before.

Sakura sat, staring at the wall frozen, while slowly breaking inside. _I expected it. But yet, the reality of it all hurts more than anything. He could have at least left a note. I must be horrible. Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference anyway if I had given everything to Sai. At least I knew him. I love him. I would ha-_

**Ring! Ring!**

The telephone broke Sakura from her increasingly depressing thoughts and she quickly answered it, fumbling with the buttons.

"Hello?" She finally asked.

"Sakura!" A relieved, loud, and oh-so-familiar voice yelled into the other end.

"Ino?"

"Who else would it be? Hey, where'd you go last night? We couldn't find you. Figured you'd hooked up with some guy, but seriously, if you hadn't picked up, I would have called the police. Where's your cell? It's bound to be full of messages from me, TenTen, and Hinata."

"Oh, sorry."

"So........Where'd you go?" Ino pushed when Sakura didn't offer any explanation.

"Home."

"Home? Really? Why? What happened last night? One minute, you're talking to the brown haired guy and the next minute, you disappeared."

"Sorry."

"Sakura? Are you alright?"

"Just tired."

"Are you sure? You sound horrible, are you hurt? Didn't you get some sleep last night?"

Sakura couldn't bare to tell her friend to truth. "I'm.......a bit.....hung-over." The lie tasted bitter on her tongue but she didn't make a move to correct it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry honey! Oh, wait, I bet me yelling doesn't help. Well hey, me and the girls will be over soon."

"Why?"

"Sakura, we'd have to come over to help you load up your stuff. We're moving to college today, remember?"

"Oh, right." How could she have forgotten?

Ino laughed. "What, did you think those boxes at your house were there for decoration?"

"It just slipped my mind in the whole of everything. But, you guys have to move too. I'll be alright."

"I sent mine to the dorm last week and TenTen did too. Hinata sent hers, like, a month ago. She's been staying with TenTen."

Sakura sighed, feeling exhausted. "Whatever Ino. I'm tired. Do whatever you want."

"Kay, we'll be right over. Love you girl!"

"Yeah, love you too." Though she sounded sad, she meant it. Ino, TenTen, and Hinata were her sisters; if she lost them she didn't know what she'd do.

They hung up and Sakura started moving boxes downstairs. Hinata showed up first, hugging Sakura and smiling at her. But mostly, the shy girl didn't say anything. Sakura was happy for the comfortable silence that developed between them. Hinata always had a way of being comforting and knowing exacting what to say without ever saying anything.

"Sakura!" TenTen yelled as she ran in the house, almost running of the pinkette in question.

"TenTen, slow down. Gosh!" Sakura laughed, feeling better already.

TenTen laughed. "Haha, sorry. Here," she grabbed the huge box Sakura had been holding and set it on the ground. Then she hugged Sakura. "I'm so glad you're alright! We didn't know where you were last night! Don't ever do that again! I was_ so_ worried about you!" She gushed, hugging the girl tightly and enthusiastically.

"Sor-ry." Sakura gasped out and the brunette immediately released her.

"Oh, sorry again. So, I'l- _Hinata_!" she ran at the black-haired girl, tackling her in a huge hug. "I hear you and that Naruto boy really hit it off! He's such a cutie. Did you give him your number?"

"Y-Yes." Hinata blushed, looking down and playing with her fingers. TenTen smiled.

"That's great!"

"Y-Yeah, he's g-going to go t-to the s-same school as us." The blushing girl stuttered out quietly.

"Awe, that's awesome!"

"And K-Kiba is too. And Neji."

"Seriously! Neji didn't tell me that! He was amazing though. He was a great dancer and an even better kisser. Man, it was like we were made to be together."

"Neji was the first brown haired guy, right?" Sakura asked, trying to act as normal as possible.

"Oh, yeah, that right. You never met him. Turns out, Kiba, Naruto, and Neji are all best friends and when they introduced us to each other, we were all really shocked. It was pretty funny. You should have been there. Speaking of which, where'd you go? Ino never said."

"Oh, uh, home." Of course TenTen would ask that. She worried about me. Her and Hinata.

"H-Home?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah. I got tired."

"Seriously? Why didn't you answer your cell?" TenTen inquired.

"TenTen, she just said she was tired, seriously, I bet she was sleeping." Another voice said and they turned to see Ino smiling at Sakura from the doorway.

"Well, yeah." Sakura admitted and they looked at her.

"Oh, well you should have told us you were leaving. We were so worried for you!" TenTen gushed.

"Sorry." Sakura stated again. Hinata came over and gave the shocked Sakura a hug. Slowly, TenTen and Ino followed and Sakura accepted their hug, tears forming in her eyes. "T-Thanks guys." Sakura whispered, wiping the tears away. Even though she wouldn't tell them what had really happened, all three friends knew something was wrong with the pinkette and they weren't going to push their friend to tell them.

"It's okay Sakura." Ino said, smiling.

"Yeah, just don't do it again." TenTen beamed at her. Sakura smiled brokenly at them.

"H-Hey, I think the moving van just d-drove up!" Hinata changed the subject efficiently, earning a grateful smile from Sakura as they instructed the moving men as to what was going and what was staying.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ**

As Sakura put the last of her stuff away in her shared dorm with Ino, she smiled to herself. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, one living room, one kitchen, and even a balcony, since they were on the sixth floor. TenTen and Hinata were in the apartment across the hall. How perfect was that?

"The sunset is beautiful." Ino said from the balcony as Sakura came into the living room. She was leaning against the guard rail, the door open to let in the soft breeze.

"Konoha University. Toughest school to get into." Sakura commented, coming out to look over the school grounds with her friend.

"And who would have thought we'd make it?"

"This is going to be a great year." Sakura stated and Ino beamed at her.

"You bet cha! Hey, Sakura, let's make a promise, you know, like when we were little."

"Um, sure?"

"This year, we'll make _something_ remarkable happen in our lives. Something, _anything_, but whatever it is, it's going to impact our lives and it'll make it all the more incredible. Get a boyfriend, get a cool job, make some wonderful new friends, something." Ino held out her pinky finger. "Deal?"

Sakura smiled at her friend, remembering things from long ago, when they were little. Her pinky twisting with Ino's. "Deal." She said. And they watched the first sunset of their college days.

_Yes,_ Sakura thought. _This year is going to be different. It's going to be one of the most unforgettable years of my life. I can feel it._

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ**

"Hinata!" A voice yelled as the three girls explored Konoha University's humongous campus. The girl in question turned around, blushing but waving back to the loud blond.

The blond came running over to them, Kiba and Neji behind him.

"Hey, Hinata." Naruto said, beaming at her. She blushed deeper.

"H-Hi, N-Naruto." Sakura smiled at her friend, who smiled back. "N-Naruto, this is m-my other b-best friend, Sakura."

"Well hi, Sakura." Naruto said, sticking out his hand. Sakura shook it, smiling at him. Suddenly, her eyes started burning as she glared at him.

"If you hurt Hinata, I will hunt you down." She threatened before giving him an innocent smile. Naruto looked terrified. "I like him." Sakura whispered to Hinata who nodded slightly, trying not to laugh.

"Sakura, this is Neji." TenTen said, pushing him in front of her for Sakura's approval. Sakura shook his hand as well.

"And the same goes to you." Neji smirked.

"I believe it was in my destiny to meet TenTen, I won't chance the wrath of fate and leave her." He vowed and Sakura snorted.

"Trust me, the wrath of fate would be like the wrath of an ant when compared to mine if you hurt her. Just as long as the stars don't unaligned and tell you to leave her, I think we'll get along though. But no vows of eternal love around me, got it?" Neji laughed, putting an arm around TenTen, who was laughing with him.

"Hey Sakura!" Kiba said, smiled toothily at her.

"Hi Kiba-" Sakura suddenly stopped, staring behind the group. Ino turned and she froze as well.

"No way. Hey," Ino turned back to the others. "Isn't that Red from the club? The one that started the fight?" She whispered as the others turned to see what they were looking at.

There were three people in a sort of group talking together. One was the blond chick from the club. The other was Kankuro. They only saw the back on the other one, but Sakura knew. It _had_ to be him.

No other person had hair that shade of red. The color of blood.

"What's wrong?" Neji asked, studying the group.

"You guys know the Sabaku's?" Naruto asked and the girls stared at him.

"You _know_ them?" Ino asked. Naruto shrugged.

"Sorta."

"What do you guys know about them?" TenTen inquired. Sakura listening silently but intently to every word.

"Well, Temari's alright, you girls will probably get along with her. And Kankuro's pretty cool too, if you're his friend……" Kiba trailed off.

"But?" Sakura pushed.

"No one really knows anything about Gaara. _I _think he's sad but like I have any proof. It's not like his girlfriends know anything about him. He's......." Naurto paused looking for the word.

_Gaara_, Sakura thought, _Red's name is Gaara. _

"Freaky?" Kiba offered and Naruto glared at him.

"No, different. What's with everyone? God, he's just a person who's been dealt a little harsher than everyone else."

"Yeah well, you haven't heard some of the things I have-" But Sakura had tuned them out. She was watching the brunette currently sashaying over to Gaara's side. She watched as he put his arm lazily over her shoulders, like it was some huge strain on him to lift it.

_None of his girlfriends know anything about him_.

_Girl_friends?_ Gaara's a player? I should have figured it. God, I'm an idiot. _Sakura's thought got more and more depressing as she watched the brunette practically have sex with Gaara in the courtyard. Sakura felt like she was about to throw up.

"Sakura? Sakura?" Ino asked, waving her hand in front of the pinkette's face. Sakura blinked before focusing on the blond.

"Yeah?"

"The guys invited to show us around. You coming?"

Giving Gaara one more glance, she turned to give Ino a completely fake smile. "Of course!" She answered, the pep in her voice completely fake. She walked over and joined her friends, oblivious to the jade eyes now staring at her disbelievingly.

**Hope you like it! Please review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh. My. GOOOOSSSHHHHHH. Is it just me, or are you ready to kill this thing? I'm having SOOO many difficulties, my chapter won't show up, half the time my review show-er and counter thing is messing up, half the time my story's stats don't know WHAT it is, and honestly, sometimes it just has some serious errors. What the heck is wrong with this thing? Honestly.**

**Had to let some steam out there. :) Hope you still love me! Haha, well, here's the next chapter.**

Sakura felt Sai's lips as he kissed her neck.

"Sakura." He groaned. His voice was rough and sounded deeper than usual.

"Sai?" Sakura asked, moving away.

Instead of meeting her love's black eyes, she was met with hungry, jade eyes. Sai's black hair was now a bloody red and the boy in front of her gave her a demented smile.

"Sakura." He growled out, because that's what it was. A growl.

"Gaara?" Sakura asked, as Gaara's teeth sunk into her neck. Sakura screamed.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ**

"Sakura!" Sakura sat up bolt right, her hair sticking up in all directions, and a light sheen of sweat covering her body.

Ino giggled from the doorway. "You need to get up. It's our first day of college, don't want to be late!" Ino then skipped back into her room.

_Gaara.........why was I dreaming of Gaara? It felt like even more of a nightmare than the usually ones with Sai. _Sakura thought as she got ready.

TenTen and Hinata were waiting on them when Sakura and Ino showed up at the door of first period. They exchanged smiles and 'good mornings' before heading into class.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ**

Gaara groaned as he pulled himself into a sitting position. He hadn't slept at all, but he never did anyway. He turned to the brunette still snoozing in his bed. What was her name again? Matsura? Motsiri?

No, it was..... "Matsuri." The brunette sat up, looking around dazedly before focusing on Gaara and smiling.

"Well, good mor-"

"Get out." Gaara cut her off.

Matsuri look at him oddly. "Heh?" She was slow in the afternoon, but all thoughts were completely stopped in the morning.

"I said, 'get out'." Gaara growled out and he glared at her. Matsuri gulped and jumped up, hurriedly putting her clothes on.

"'Kay, uh, see you in class, Gaara!" Matsuri yelled as she ran out the door.

Gaara groaned as he stood, grabbing the shirt currently covering the TV. It was black, like most things he owned. He grabbed a pair of boxers as well as jeans and then went into the bathroom. _Class......._ he thought. _Uh, I _hate_ class._

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ**

The girls were extremely early for class. Sakura had found her seat and smiled as a boy with raven-black hair sat beside her.

"Hi." Sakura said. No response. "I'm Sakura." The boy's dark eyes opened slightly, glaring at her.

"You're annoying." he stated, before closing his eyes again, his clasped hands covering his mouth. Sakura was shocked. _He just met me.....how can he say that? _She thought as she turned away._ I can't help it if he's not a morning per-_

"Sasuke."

Sakura turned to see the raven-haired boy watching her. "Wh-what?" She asked, confused.

"I'm Sasuke." The boy repeated, seemingly very annoyed at having to repeat himself. Sakura smiled at him.

"Sakura."

"I know, you just introduced yourself."

Sakura blushed. "Oh, right." Sasuke smirked at her and Sakura's blush deepened. _Well, he is really cute_......She thought, just as the teacher called the class to attention.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ**

Even though Gaara hadn't slept and had gotten up with plenty of time to spare, he was still late. Extremely late. So late, that he missed the first half of first period.

As Gaara walked in, he earned a glare from the teacher, which he returned with a smirked of his own. Gaara sauntered down the aisle, his eyes scanning the rows and rows of boring faces.

Most of the girls had a smile for him, trying to make him look at them. His eyes passed over them all, trying to see if a certain bubble-gum haired girl would be in his first class. Why it mattered to him, he didn't know. He was just curious. He saw Matsuri then, who wiggled her fingers at him and winked. He ignored her completely, already tired of her antics. So she was his current conquest, like it mattered. Every girl got her chance to be his eventually.

And right now he was thinking about giving a little pinkette that chance. Fresh meat was always best. He smirked at the thought. Even though she's already had the physically innocence torn from her, she was still just as much as a virgin. _I'll have to fix that_, Gaara thought.

Just then, he spotted her, sitting next to _Uchiha_. Gaara sneered as the boy's head rose to meet his glare with one of his own. There wasn't two people in the world that could hate each other more than Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara no Sabaku hated each other.

Sakura's eyes rose then, breaking their glares as she caught Gaara's gaze.

_It's just like at the club_, Gaara thought. Feeling as the sounds of the room slowly quieted and everything other than Sakura dimmed slightly. Gaara shook his head, quickly taking his seat and glowering at nothing in particular.

_So she is in my first period,_ he thought as the teacher began the lesson again. _Interesting.........._Then he smirked at nothing in particular. _Uchiha, you won't beat me. _

_She was mine before you were ever a thought._

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ**

Sakura couldn't take her eyes off him.

_Gaara.........He's just the same as the last time I saw him. Still arrogant and looks like he's going to blow his lid in a second. Still.........._she found herself smiling just as the bell rang to signal the end of class. Sakura jumped, shocked. _Wow, that went by fast._

Sakura unconsciously searched the crowd but couldn't find the redhead. _Oh, he must have already left._

"Sakura." Sakura looked up to see an extremely annoyed Sasuke. _Is that his only emotion? Annoyance?_

"What was that?" She asked.

"I said, a friend of mine is having a back-to-school party, sort of. Do you want to go?" _With him? Like, as in a date?_

"Sure, Sasuke!" Sakura beamed outwardly but on the inside she was thinking, _what did I just agree to? _

"What's your dorm room number?"

"692 or something like that."

Sasuke smirked. "Alright, I'll drop by there around seven Friday night."

_"_Sounds like a date!" _Did I seriously just say that? Oh no._ Sasuke left then and Sakura was met with an excited TenTen. "Hey, what's got you so excited?"

"We were all invited to a party this weekend! Isn't that great?"

"Party?"

"Yes! Aren't you excited!? Wait, you're not excited. Why are you not excited?"

"Sasuke just asked me to a party this weekend. Guess I'll have to cancel."

"You mean the cutie you were talking to? You're going to cancel a date with him? Are you insane? Sick?" She felt Sakura's forehead who moved away, laughing.

"No, I just want to go with my sisters to my first college party. I'll go with Sasuke next time."

"Well alright, whatever you want to do. I've got to go tell Ino and Hinata about the party. It's going to be so fun! See you later Sakura!"

"Bye TenTen!" Sakura smiled to herself as her enthusiastic friend ran off to inform her others friends of the party. _Well, Ino will certainly give her the excited reaction she wants._

"Sakura?" Sakura turned and smiled as she saw Kankuro's shocked face. She waved and he shook his head, jogging over to her. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, going to college?" He laughed.

"I know that. Hey, sorry about that night. I didn't know that-"

"It's okay. You _didn't_ know. It's just.........I just broke up with my boyfriend and you made me think of him." Sakura admitted.

"Oh, sorry."

Sakura smiled. "Don't worry about it. So what are you doing here?"

"Same as you.......Do you, um...... Why were you talking to Uchiha?"

"You mean Sasuke?"

"Yeah."

"We sit by each other in first period and he was asking me to one of his friends parties this weekend. I said yes, but, it looks like I'm going to have to cancel."

"Seriously?" he seemed to be in disbelief.

"Why so shocked?"

"Just let me get this straight. You. Are going to cancel a date. With _Uchiha?_ Girls can do that?"

Sakura hit him playfully on the shoulder, laughing. "Yes, girls can do that. It's not like there's a rulebook to dating or anything."

"I know that. If there were, I'd have it."

"Haha, only so you could break them!"

"And still get the girl."

"Maybe, hey I ne-"

"Kankuro!" They both turned to see the blond from the club running over to them. "Kankuro, what are you doing here!? You're next class is in, like, three minutes! Go, boy, go!"

"Right. Oh, and Temari, Sakura. Sakura, this is Temari, my bipolar sister. Got to run!"

"Alright, see you later Kankuro!" Sakura said as he waved and then ran off in the opposite direction. It was nice to talk to Kankuro. Conversation was light and easy; it flowed.

"I am _not_ bipolar!" Temari yelled but her brother was already gone. She shook her head. "Brothers…… One's an idiotic dork, and one's a genius player. I have _such_ a great family." She mumbled.

Sakura laughed and smiled at Temari. "Hi."

"Hey, so what were you and Kankuro talking about?"

"Just that if there was a rulebook on dating, he'd break every rule in it and still get the girl, according to him of course." Temari laughed.

"Seems like him. He's such a dork. My class starts soon too, but it was nice meeting you Sakura. Maybe we can meet up later and actually have a chance to get to know each other!"

Sakura beamed at the blond. "Sounds like a plan."

"Bye!"

"Bye!" Then the blond was running in the same direction as Kankuro had left. _Gaara's related to _them?_ He's nothing like them. Actually, they seem pretty nice, but Gaara……………he seems a little………Wild? Fierce? Controlling? Malicious? _

As Sakura walked toward her next class, she kept trying to think of a one word to sum up Gaara. _Crazy? Dangerous? _Sakura paused, throwing that one around in her head. _Dangerous. Dangerous. No, that doesn't quite fit._ _Not that he isn't dangerous......_ she corrected herself.

"Sakura!" Sakura turned to see Naruto running up over to her. Sakura smiled and waved._ I'll never get to class at this rate._

"Hi Naruto!"

"I think TenTen might have already told you but I'm throwing a party this weekend and you, Hinata, TenTen, Ino, and all the guys are invited."

"Wait, so _you're_ the one throwing the party?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Did you invite Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Oh, well that must have been what he was talking about too. Guess I won't have to cancel my d-"

"Sakura," Naruto cut her off of her rambling to herself. "_Why_?"

"Right, sorry. I forgot you were there." Naruto's eyebrow twitched. "See, Sasuke asked me to his friend's party but I didn't know who it was. I said yes then TenTen said we have all been invited to a party and I thought it was a _different_ party. So, I thought I was going to have to cancel, but now I know it's the _same_ party so-"

"Sakura?" Naruto cut her off again.

"Yes?"

"I didn't want an essay, just an explanation. I'm good now."

"If you weren't going to listen to the whole explanation, then why ask!?" Sakura asked, annoyed.

"Because, I forgot you were a girl and that girls tend to make a single sentence into a …….para……graph?" Naruto slowed down, shrinking slightly from Sakura's expression. "Um…..Sakura?"

"You. Forgot. I. Was. A. _Girl_." Sakura said, her voice deathly calm. Naruto gulped, backing away and waving his hands.

"So, uh, I-I've g-got to g-go. See y-you later Sakura!" Naruto stuttered out before taking off. Sakura glared at his back. _He forgot I was a girl. He forgot_ I _was a_ girl._ He _forgot_ I was a _girl!

"I won't forgive you for that, Uzumaki!" Sakura yelled after the blonde's retreating figure.

"Forgive him for what?" A deep, masculine voice said in her ear. She could feel their warm breath on her ear. Somehow, she knew who it was, before she even turned around.

When Sakura did turn around, she came face-to-face with two jade orbs. Gaara smirked at her.

"He said he forgot I was a girl." Sakura found herself saying, though all she was really aware of was him. The man from her nightmares. _Not dangerous…………_she though, continuing the thought from early. _To be describe in one word……………_ Gaara sneered.

"He forgot you were a girl?" Though worded like a question, it still somehow managed to insult her and to let her know that he loathed her.

Sakura shook her head, trying to dispel whatever his fierce eyes had done to her. "Not literally, but-"

"Like I care." He answered before walking away. Sakura hurried to catch up with him.

"Of course you did, since you asked me the question in the beginning." Gaara didn't respond other than to give her a glare from the corner of his eye, which Sakura ignored, talking animatedly. "Which leads me to think, _why_ do you care? I was just a fling, right? Someone who didn't know you. But now, _Gaara_, you can't get rid of me that easily. You know, you could have at least woken me up." Sakura added.

Gaara turned to her and it was like he was trying to kill her with his eyes. "Why?" He hissed out and she thought.

_Why _should_ he have woken me? We had just met. He probably thought that's what I wanted. I mean, what girl goes to a club, gets drunk, and then invites someone she just met to her house. I didn't mean anything to him; he doesn't mean anything to me. _"Still…..you should have woken me." She said out loud. He could have said goodbye. He _did_ take her innocence, seems like he could at least give her that.

Gaara made a sound resembling a laugh and a snarl. "_Sorry_ I didn't wake you." He spat out. It sounded more like an insult than an apology. Rage suddenly filled Sakura.

"_Listen, Gaara no Sabaku_!" She yelled and the people around all quieted, watching the pink-haired girl as she jabbed her finger in Gaara's chest. "I don't care _who_ you are or _what_ your reputation is! You are _not_ going to treat me like I'm worse than _dirt_! You are the _worse_ person I've _ever met!_ I am not some _toy!_ So why don't you just go to the fiery pits of_ Hades_!" She finished.

There wasn't a sound in the courtyard as everyone watched, waiting for _the_ Gaara no Sabaku to make a move. _No_ one _ever_ yelled at Gaara so they had no clue as to what he would do. Right now, he looked murderous, hands clenched as he glared at the pinkette. Suddenly though, he smirked, leaning closer to her.

His lips brushed her ear as he whispered, "I've already been there. Maybe you should visit me sometime." Sakura shivered as he walked away. The people parted out of his way, shocked. They hadn't heard him.

"Lonely." Sakura whispered out loud, staring at nothing in particular. _Gaara………… to describe you in one word would be................._

_Lonely._

_How did you become this way?_

**Sooo……how's that? Likey? No likey? Throw-y in the trash-y? Review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Me no own any Naruto characters.**

Gaara sat up on the roof of his building, staring off at the setting sun. He took another drag from the cigarette before flicking it on the tar-covered roof and stepping on it. Then he sighed, morphing his tired features to that of an arrogant smirk.

He easily climbed back into his room, holding onto the ledge and swinging down through the window. He reached for his cell-phone; its little screen was blinking, signally a new text. Gaara deleted it, not bothering to read it. Then he shoved the annoying box in his pocket before leaving his room.

He paused at the bottom, just around the corner from the main door to his building. Not long after, a girl dressed in a short red dress walked around, smiling mischievously when she spotted him. He smirked and she quietly came over, leaning heavily against him and licking at his neck once.

"Gaarrrrra." She purred in his ear, nipping at it. He growled and she giggled, not fighting him as he led her away from any spectators. He would get his needed distraction.

_Too easy_, he thought, before biting the girl's neck. He'd already forgotten her name. Or had he ever known it? _Always so easy_.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ**

Sakura stared at her reflection as Ino pulled and twisted her hair this way and that.

"Ino!" Sakura cried for the thousandth time. The blond just grunted.

"Look you want to look good for this Sasuke. According to TenTen, he's a total catch. And beauty requires a little pain, so _deal with it_!" The pinkette huffed, crossing her arms in a last line of defiance. "And don't cross your arms!" Ino snapped. "You'll wrinkle the dress and it's gorgeous." Sakura sighed but relented. With a few more tugs and sprays, she was declared finished.

Sakura smiled at the girl in the mirror. She was wearing a slimming plain black dress and her hair was up in a purposefully loose clamp. Sakura smiled at her reflection, happy to see the absence of the usual dead look in her eyes for once. Ino clapped her hands together, startling Sakura.

"You look perfect. Sasuke will definitely have trouble keeping his hands to himself!"

"He better not have too much trouble." Sakura muttered, giving herself another once over.

Just then, someone knocked on the door and Ino squealed. "That's him, that's got to be him! Alright, teeth, breath?"

"Check, check."

"Deodorant?"

"Check."

"Emergency mace?"

"Since when?" Sakura asked, confused. Ino smiled.

"Right. We'll get there a little later, but Naruto and the guys should already be there. If you have any problems, call one of us girls or look for them." Sakura rolled her eyes, slipping on the black heels.

"Ino, it's not my first date. I know how things work." She said before opening the door and smiling at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked absolutely stunning in a pair of dark jeans and a dark blue button-up shirt. He smirked at her, offering her a perfect, pink Sakura bloom.

"Sakura." He said, sounding like a true gentlemen. Sakura blushed, taking the flower.

"Thank you." She managed to mutter before adding a quick 'Let me go put this in water' and went back inside. Ino quickly took the flower, practically shoving her back to the door. She was grinning hugely at Sakura.

"Go, girl, go! Did you see him? He's absolutely smoking! Go, go, I'll take care of the flower here. No _go_!" Her friend slammed the door as soon as Sakura was out of it. Sakura blushed more deeply, smiling shyly at Sasuke.

"That's Ino. She's mental, please excuse her." She muttered.

"I am _not,_ Sakura Haruno!" was heard through the door and Sakura smiled as Sasuke offered his hand. Sakura's fingers fit easily in the spaces between his.

"You look beautiful." Sasuke whispered in her ear as they walked toward Naruto's party. It was in his room, number 782. Sakura blushed as Sasuke's words.

_Perfect. She's going to be one of the easiest conquests I've ever made._ Sasuke thought. _But I've got to stay 'gentlemanly'. She doesn't look like the type that likes the 'bad boys'._

Sasuke held open the door for Sakura as they arrived to the party. Everywhere you looked there was a flashing, multi-colored light. It made Sakura slightly dizzy.

"Hey, Sasuke, I'll be right back. I want to get a little bit of fresh air." She smiled and he nodded, giving her a smirk just as she turned away.

Sakura stepped out into the patio, taking a deep breath of air. _Wow, it was disorientating in there. Not sure I'll be able to make it through the night._

"Here, try this." Sakura turned and took the drink Sasuke offered. She sipped at it as he gulped his down. _It taste okay, but I can definitely tell there's a lot of alcohol in it. _Images of what had happened last time she had drank a lot filled her brain. _No, no, this time's different. Sasuke won't take advantage of me. _She chugged the drink, holding the grimace as it burned a trail down her throat. _No, this time will be different._

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ**

"Gaara!" Gaara turned, glaring at the loud blond. "Hey Gaara, I was- You look like crap." Naruto observed, and backed away waving his hands in a submissive gesture. "Just stating a fact."

"What do you want, Uzumaki?" Gaara grunted out, wanting to slam his fist in the blonde's face for no apparent reason. It was hard to not give into temptation.

"Right, I'm throwing a party tonight, everyone's invited. I haven't seen you this week or I would have invited you sooner. I asked you brother and sister, and they said that they as-"

Gaara turned around, continuing to walk down the sidewalk. "Hey! Wait up!" Naruto ran up in front Gaara, blocking him. "Do you want to come or not?"

"No." Gaara said, glaring at him. Naruto kept pushing, knowing he was over-stepping some boundaries.

"Why not? It's a new year! Celebrate! Besides, it's about time you made some friends. It'll be fu-"

"No." Gaara growled out, determining how much force he'd have to put in a blow to the head to cause the blond to be knocked out. Not nearly his full strength, he determined.

"But _why no-_" Naruto was cut off by the rock that slammed into his stomach. Naruto clutched at his stomach, backing away from the redhead.

"Hn." Gaara said, walking past the blond. Naruto spat on the ground, seeing the blood.

_Dang, he packs a punch! _Naruto thought, straightening up and feeling the bruise already forming. He watching as the redhead kept walking the side of his eye. _What does he do all day? Have sex and then lift weights? Seriously…_Naruto wiped his mouth before running towards Hinata's dorm, casting all thoughts of the short-tempered redhead out of his mind. _Crap, crap, crap! I'm going to be late! Crap!_

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ**

Sakura giggled, holding onto Sasuke's arm. _Maybe I shouldn't have………have had that last drink. Yeah, that's what I shouldn't have done._ Sakura thought sluggishly through all the hilarity. _Who told the joke again?_ She thought, before busting into another giggles. Ino and the others had show up not long after but Naruto hadn't been seen yet. Hinata had been disappointed but was being a good sport, drinking very little but smiling and talking quietly. Over-all it was a fun party.

"I w-wonder where N-Naruto is." Hinata said and Kiba laughed, shoving her shoulder playfully.

"Don't worry about him. Naruto can take care of himself. Besides, this is his party. He's got to be a good host and tell everyone 'hello, nice to see you.'" Hinata face fell a little and Ino rolled her eyes but it was TenTen who saved the day, hitting Kiba on the back of the head.

"Hinata, Naruto is so into you, he's probably looking in a mirror practicing what to say to you but he's too nervous to actually come over here. He's fine. Don't worry about it." Hinata smiled at TenTen.

"Th-thanks." She said.

"Sakura!" Sakura turned, leaning heavily on Sasuke as she felt her balance go. _Oh Gosh, I'm so dizzy_. She thought, smiling and waving at whoever had called to her. Moments later, a blond chick with four ponytails and a brown-haired guy looking like it was a strain to stay standing focused in her gaze. Temari smiled at Sakura.

"Hi Sakura! I figured I'd see you here!" Sakura smiled at her.

"Oh, right. Tamari, this is Ino, Hinata, TenTen, Kiba, N-"

"I know the guys." She cut off. "Hi, Ino, Hinata, TenTen! You must be the new girls. Temari."

"Hi!" Ino and TenTen said at the same time. They'd both had more than a few drinks, though not as much as Sakura.

"H-hello." Hinata said quietly, blushing.

As the girls started talking, Sakura couldn't help but scan the crowd. _No, no flash of red. But if Temari's here, then shou-_

"Sakura, what are you looking at?" Sasuke asked and she returned her attention to him.

"Sorry. Just looking for Naruto. Think he's alright?" The lie came off her tongue easily. _Why am I lying? _She thought, but didn't bother to correct it.

"I'm sure the loser's okay. Could you stop worrying? Just chill, have fun." Sakura, personally, felt like she had already had plenty of fun and felt drained. She didn't say anything as Sasuke softly kissed her shoulder. _Sai……No, no, this is Sasuke, not Sai. I have got to get over him. Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke. _She chanted in her mind as Sasuke led her away from the group and down the narrow hallway. This area was deserted of party-goers and Sakura found herself pushed up against the wall, Sasuke's lips on her neck and shoulder hungrily.

Somehow though, she wasn't picturing her black-haired former boyfriend, and she wasn't picturing the raven-haired boy in front of her. All she could think about was the red head that had bit down hard on her neck, drawing blood. That had kissed her roughly, not tenderly, like Sasuke and Sai.

That had been her first.

_Gaara_…..she thought, just as Sasuke's lips connected with her. Sakura closed her eyes, seeing nothing but red. _Gaara……_.She thought as Sasuke ground his hips against hers. _Gaara_….. She thought as Sasuke sucked on her ear lobe.

Suddenly, Sakura was aware of something that had disrupted the party air.

"Sasuke." She said and the boy groaned, pressing harder against her. "Sasuke." She stated, serious. Sasuke pulled away, looking at her in a mixture of annoyance, lust, confusion, and just a tad bit of anger._ He's _mad _at _me_?_ "I think something going on."

He rolled his eyes, trying to kiss her. "_That's_ what you made me stop for?" He asked incredulously. Sakura stepped to the side, narrowing missing being trapped against the wall again.

"I want to see what's up." She called over her shoulder. She was shocked as she felt Sasuke's arms wrap around her waist from behind, his breath in her ear.

"We're not finished here, Sakura." He reminded her, before releasing her all with the exception of her hand. Sakura didn't object as they walked back in the room to see most of the crowd had left.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked someone and they shrugged before heading to the door. "Guess the party's over." She thought aloud and Sasuke drug her over to where Ino and the others were gathered around……something. Wait, was that a _person_? "Hey what's going on?" Sakura asked Ino. Ino turned to her and looked close to tears. Just then, the crowd thinned enough for Sakura to see who it was lying on the ground.

"No…." Sakura breathed out, upon seeing Naruto's bloodied and bruised face.

**So……wonder what happened to our little loud blonde. Poor Naruto. But it all comes together in the next chapter. Tell me what you think, please!**


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto awoke to an extremely annoying, constant beeping sound. He groaned.

"Naruto!" A relieved voice said. Naruto blinked his eyes open before the focused on a boy with brown hair.

"K-Kiba." He croaked out. A cup of water was thrust at him and he took it, grimacing as he sat up and drank from it.

"I'll be right back." Kiba said before leaving the room. Moments later, he returned with Hinata, TenTen, Ino, and Neji.

"Hey guys." Naruto said, sounding a little better. He managed a small smile as Hinata gasp and ran over to him, taking his hand in hers.

"N-Naruto! Are you okay?" She asked hurriedly.

"Yeah, what happened?" Kiba asked.

Naruto looked at the ceiling, trying to think. "I was trying to get Gaara to come to the party. Last thing I remember is running to Hinata's dorm worrying about being late." He smiled apologetically at the girl. "Sorry, Hinata."

"Oh d-don't worry about it! A-all that mat-ters is that y-you're okay." The blushing girl said, smiling.

"So you don't remember what happened to you?"

"Not really. I…..I think I saw someone. With….brown-hair? And I think the other was a blonde with gray eyes. I think. I might have just dreamt it." The blonde finished looking very confused. "Where's Sakura?"

"I'll say you dreamt it. I mean, it's obvious that Sabaku did this." Kiba play-mocked.

"While you were asleep, you kept saying Gaara's name strangely. Sakura said she was going to look for him to give her a piece of her mind for hurting you. I think we all assumed he did it; it's not like he hasn't put anyone in the hospital before." Neji said, rolling his eyes.

Naruto almost jumped out of the bed. "What!? She's going to _give him a piece of her mind?!_ Is she crazy? He'll kill her!"

"Which is what we told her. But you know, _she_ might just kill _him._ She looked really _really_ ticked. Sasuke did too, but I think that had something to do with not getting laid last night." Kiba said, sounding extremely bitter towards the end. It was no secret on how much Kiba disliked Sasuke.

The room got quiet for a moment. Then everyone scrambled to cover their ears as Naruto's voice rang out through the hospital.

"Nurse! I want out of this hospital _now!_"

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Sakura walked down the hall scanning the numbers on the doors. _What number did Kiba tell me it was again? 524? Or was it 542? _She didn't have to worry long though because moments later, a girl looking very disheveled and in a hurry ran out of a dorm and past Sakura as she zipped up her jacket. _I'm willing to bet that if Gaara's half the player he's made out to be, than that's his dorm_, she thought as she walked to the door, angry all over again. _How could he beat up Naruto? _

Sakura pounded on the door until it was opened and she was met with a glaring Gaara. "_What?_" He hissed out. Sakura glared right back at him.

"What is your problem!" She yelled at him. His head tilted to the side slightly as he leaned against the doorframe.

"_My _problem?" He stated, raising an almost non-existent eyebrow. Sakura continued to glare at him.

"Yes, _your_ problem. Why'd you beat up Naruto?"

Gaara's eyes flash in the anger he barely held in check. "He's annoying." He said, started to close the door. Sakura put her foot between the door, slamming it open and coming in his dorm, jamming her finger in Gaara's chest and yelling at him.

"News-flash, you can't go around beating people up just because they're annoying. Otherwise, I would have knocked some sense into you the first time I met you!"

"Though you didn't beat me per say, I do seem to remember scratching and some biting." The redhead mused, smirking demonically. Sakura's anger doubled with his smugness.

"That was a _mistake!_ I shouldn't have done something so idiotic! _You_ shouldn't have taken advantage of me! If you weren't such a _man whore_, then we wouldn't even in this is situation!" Gaara's expression darkened as he stopped moving away from her hand. Sakura stumbled, fear now undertaking her. She was now in Gaara's dorm, alone. And he looked ticked.

Sakura's eyes got bigger as she took a step away from the redhead but he grabbed her wrist, keeping her within a foot of him. "And what," He whispered, anger clearly behind the statement as his eyes bore into hers. "_situation_ are we in?" He finished. Sakura felt her breath caught and she found she was having difficulty breathing. She tugged at her wrist only to see that Gaara had a firm, strong hold on it. He wasn't hurting her just yet, only holding her still, yet she felt as if he was just barely managing to control himself from lashing out at her. She gulped.

"I-I-I should go." Sakura whispered, looking up into his jade eyes with fear.

"Should you?" He asked and she stepped away; Gaara stepped forward so there was still very little distance between them. With one more step, Sakura found her back against the wall. _Crap, this isn't good_, she thought. Gaara released her hand and placed both of his hands beside her head, glaring at her while she looked at him like a rabbit caught in the eyes of a snake.

"Y-Yeah, I should. Th-the others will be w-worried about me." Sakura stuttered out, cursing herself inwardly for showing him how flustered he was making her. Gaara's angry gaze didn't lighten up but he did smirk at her. Sakura felt a sudden chill find its way up her spine.

"As they should be." He said before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. Sakura lost her breath as she instinctively returned the pressure. Sakura felt the growl as it rumbled through Gaara's chest. As his hand began to stroke her thigh seductively, Sakura awoke from her firework-filled daydream. She pulled away from Gaara, backing away down the hall as he stared at her looking slightly angry.

"I-I-I've really got to go!" Sakura called over her shoulder as she turned around and quickly left the dorm. She slammed the dorm behind her, out of breath. Sakura ran down the hall before stopping around the corner, leaning heavily against the wall. She slid down the door, trying to catch her breath as she thought about what just happened._ He kissed me and I didn't even fight back. Oh but, is he a good kisser. _Then a thought hit her.

_Dang it! I was supposed to yell at him for hurting Naruto! Not kiss him! _

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Gaara stared at the door, slightly confused and a little angry. He was currently contemplating on whether or not he should chase her down and make her understand that he was _Gaara no Sabaku; _girls didn't turn him down. Or he could just let it go. The later seemed to win as he went to get a shower.

As he got out, he wrapped a towel around his shoulder and pulled on a pair of sleeping pants. _Not that I'll sleep._ He thought before wiping the mirror clear with his towel. He sighed as he glared angrily at his own reflection. He flicked off the lights; no longer able to stand looking at his own eyes. Feeling extremely drained, he grabbed a lighter and his pack of cigarettes as he grabbed the ledge outside his window, climbing up to the roof. There, he laid back, his wet hair being dried in its random fashion as he light up and took a deep drag.

_Sakura……The annoying pinkette._ He thought, looking at the night sky. _I thought she was just like other girls but………other girls wouldn't have left tonight. I kind of wish she had stayed. _He found himself thinking before finishing up his cigarette and tossing the butt over the side of the roof. He lit another one, settling in for a long night. _Night……I hate night. It's so………_

_...Cold._

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Sakura smiled as she walked in the hospital room, only to double check as the cleaning nurse spoke.

"The loud-mouth checked out early today, you're too late." She said and Sakura thanked her before returning to her car. _Gosh, can't call a person,_ she thought.

As Sakura stopped at a red-light, she noticed a lack of other cars on the road. _It's only eleven, I wonder why no ones out_. Then, just as the light turned green, a dark figure stepped out in front of Sakura's car. She screamed, slamming on the brakes. There was a knocking on her window and she tried to lock her doors just as it was pulled open.

She stared at two harsh, gray eyes. The owner smirked.

"Hello there. Would you happen to have a few spare minutes?" The man said before grabbing her arm and roughly pulling her from the car. She squeaked as she was pushed against her car. She stared at the man in horror.

"Pl-please take anything, just don't hurt me!" She cried, trying to cover her face as tears started to form on her face.

"Don't cry. I'm not going to hurt you. I just need to ask you a few questions."

"Yash-" Another man started. He had brown-haired and dull, brown eyes, but there was a burning hatred in those eyes.

"I know, I know." Yash-whatever turned back to Sakura. He smiled at her. "See Pinky, I just need you to answer a few questions and then you can go, alright?" Sakura nodded her head, fear traveling all through her body. "Okay, do you know Gaara no Sabaku?" Sakura nodded, not trusting her voice. Yash smiled again. "Good. Now, now how _well _do you know him?"

"N-not too w-well." She stuttered out. "N-not at all r-really. I j-just know his fa-face."

"And other parts of his body I'm sure." The other man muttered and Sakura felt a little spark of anger ignite within in her as she glared at the other man.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Sakura asked before paleing. The other man seemed shocked before smirking at her.

"It means, you've probably been one of his 'girlfriends' right? That seems to be the only people to even get two words out of him."

"No, I'm not, nor was a I ever Gaara's girlfriend." Sakura stated one-hundred percent truthfully. This made their eyes widened before Yash smiled creepily.

"Alright then, you're _sure_ you don't know anything about Gaara? Anything at all would be helpful. Maybe his dorm number?" This made Sakura stop. _Why would these guys want Gaara's dorm number? _

"Uh, sorry, but no. I've really got to go now. My friends will be worried about me. See, I was just at the hospital, one of my friends got in a nasty fight, and well, I got back from my….boyfriends! apartment." Sakura giggled nervously. _Good job Haruno. Almost messed up there and said Gaara's dorm._ Sakura continued babbling, remembering how Naruto had told her how guys hated to hear an essay from a girl when she was asked a simple question. "And, the stupid loud-mouth, he checked out without having _anyone _call me to let me know," Sakura made her voice annoyingly whiny. "So now I-"

"That's enough." Brown-hair said. "Clearly, you have no information for us, but should you get some," he handed Sakura a card with a single seven-digit number on it. "call us." Yash and Brownie nodded before Yash released Sakura and moved away. Just before Sakura closed her door, Yash called out to her.

"Oh, and Pinky! Would you tell Gaara something for me? Next time you see him?"

"Uh, sure?" Sakura said, finding this the oddest hold-up she's ever thought, heard, been in, or read about. _They're just going to let me go? And what do that have to do with Gaara?_

"Tell him that Uncle Yashi misses him!" Sakura nodded nervously as Brownie slapped Yash on the back of the head, muttering about what an idiot he was. Sakura quickly got in her car, locking the door and slamming on the gas. _I'll never drive at night alone again. _She thought as tremors started wracking through her body. _They scared me so _much_! I was sure they were going to kill me, or maybe worse. _

_Why is Gaara's uncle scaring the crap out of people on the street? Why doesn't he just go visit Gaara? And how does he not even no his own nephew's dorm number?!_

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

"Sakura!" A voice screamed into Sakura's phone. Sakura growled at Ino.

"What, couldn't call me and let me know that Naruto had already checked out?"

There was some nervous laughter from the other end of the connection. "Right, uh, about that. See, everyone was just so happy that Naruto's injuries weren't that serious.....and I might have accidentally.......forgotten about you."

"Thanks." Sakura replied drying, speeding through a yellow light. "I'm on my way back. What was the verdict? How bad was Naruto?"

"He's bruised and scratched and has two broken ribs, but that's about all we know. They told him no more street fighting." She laughed at her own joke.

"What happened?"

"He said he doesn't remember, though I'd remember if some random guy on the street showed up and started punching me. We all think it was Gaara, it makes sense. According to the guys, he's put others in the hospital before and he _was_ the last person seen and to see Naruto. No one else makes sense."

Sakura sighed, trying to stop her mind from turning to thoughts of the redhead. It wasn't working too well. "I guess so. I'm almost back to the dorm, be there in a few!"

"'Kay, and sorry!"

"Whatever." Sakura muttered though she was smiling as she closed her phone. She quickly parked her car in the parking garage on campus before grabbing her purse and getting out. She looked around nervously. _Yes, definitely _not_ going anywhere after dark alone again, _she thought as she scuttled across the concrete towards the dorms. She looked around nervously. _It feels like someone's watching me_, she thought before quickly closing the door to the dorm. Then she started up the stairs, not bothering with the elevator.

_Ino is _so_ paying me gas money for that wasted trip to the hospital_.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Gaara looked down as _her_ car returned to the parking garage. He could easily see that is was, in fact, _her_ just by the bright pink hair. He smirked, watching her as she looked around nervously. She looked a little shaken. _Wonder what happened? _He found himself thinking but not really planning on trying to figure out. He lay back again, picking out the many constellations he knew.

_Beat up Naruto?_ He thought, replaying the scene with Sakura in his head. _I punched him in the stomach. Once. If that's beating him up, I wonder what she'd call what I normally do. Killing them? _He smirked at this.

_Yeah. Probably._

**Feelings? **


	6. Chapter 6

_School…..No matter where in the world you are, it will always suck, _Sakura thought, sighing as she sat down into her class. She had been going to college for a week and a half now and was nearly drowning as the homework continued to pile in. _Guess there's not going to be a party this weekend_, she thought, smiling at Sasuke as he sat beside her. She got the usual smirk and nod from him.

Sakura wasn't sure where their relationship was exactly. They had gone out last Saturday after the party disaster, and they'd had lunch together almost every day since. They even held hands.

Still……it didn't feel right to Sakura. Especially when a certain redhead continued to plague her thoughts.

And nightmares.

Instead of the normal, horrible, break-up nightmares of Sai, she as now experiencing scream-inducing, frightening-but-yet-still-somehow-amazing nightmares of the one and only Gaara no Sabaku. The really sad part?

She _never_ wanted to wake up from such nightmares.

Just then, ten minutes late as usual, the redhead walked in, preformed arrogant smirk plastered on his face.

Just the sight of him made Sakura burn with anger once again. Though it's been half a week, she was still made at him for hurting Naruto. She had purposefully avoided him since their little 'meeting' at his dorm. Not that he had been trying to find her. Actually, it was like he was avoiding her too. Or that's what is seemed like to Sakura, and she doubted that she was wrong.

"Gaara-kun!" A nasally voice yelled, earning a glare from the teacher. Sakura rolled her eyes at Matsuri's shout. Apparently, Gaara had broken up with her yesterday. Sakura was kind of hoping she would make a scene, maybe even slap him….

Though, that would be giving Matsuri too much credit, wouldn't it?

Said girl jumped up from her seat, running to the redhead with tears leaking from her eyes. "Oh, Gaara-kun, I know all those mean words you said yesterday were just you being afraid of how you really feel! But it's okay! We can work through this cause I lo-" Gaara casually stepped to the side as she flung herself at him, trying to wrap her arms around his neck. She fell to the ground, sobbing, as he looked at her coldly.

"Mr. Sabaku." The teacher said, and Gaara turned to glare at him. "I am trying to teach this class. If you could_ please_ handle your relationship-related affairs at another time." He said strained.

"Hn," Gaara said, turning to throw another disdainful look at Matsuri, who was now wailing. He turned and started back to the door, seemingly aready tired with the day's class. "I already dealt with it and done with it." He stated before walking out of the room. Just before the door closed, his jade eyes met Sakura's.

_Never before have I seen such cold, hard eyes_, Sakura decided as Matsuri was escorted from the room by one of her friends and the teacher began the lesson. Something nudged Sakura's thigh and she looked down to see Sasuke's hand as he held it palm up. She placed her hand in his, throwing him a gratefully smile, which he nodded at and then they returned their attention to the teacher.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

_Sooner would have been better than later, _Gaara thought as he left the room. _It wasn't like she was anything special anyway._

Just before closing the door, Gaara caught Sakura's gaze and he was almost tempted to freeze and just stare in her eyes.

_I've never seen such……open eyes_, he thought, closing the door. He sauntered down the hall, smirk in place. _You can see every little emotion that passes through her eyes_. He sped up a little when he heard the door behind him open again and Matsuri's wailing filled the hallway. _Ugh, she's giving me a headache_, he thought, slipping out of the nearest emergency exit door. He rolled his eyes as the alarm sounded before taking a smoke from his pocket. _This is going to be a long day_.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

"So class, you ne-"

Just then, a blaring bell sounded and Sakura clutched at her ears. Immediately everyone went into panic.

"Calm down, calm down!" The teacher yelled. "It's the fire alarm. Now, just calmly leave the classroom from the closest exit." The teacher instructed but students were already cramming through the doors and even the teacher seemed a little wary. _This must not be a planned fire drill_, Sakura thought as Sasuke escorted her from the room.

Once outside, Sakura felt her hand ripped from Sasuke's in the entire commotion. Going with the crowd, she found herself in the courtyard with a group of huddled, nervous students. Scanning the crowd, she saw no sign of the raven-haired boy.

Then, she saw a flash of red and she turned in that direction, spotting Gaara just before he ducked behind a building and rounded the corner. On impulse, she ran after him.

"Gaara?" She called as she entered the small opening between the buildings. He wasn't there. _I know he went through here_, she thought, walking to the other side. "Gaara?" she called again.

"What?" was the cold reply and as she turned the corner, she was met with cold, jade eyes and a puff of smoke directly in her face. She instantly started coughing uncontrollably. When she got in under control, she glared at him.

"You shouldn't smoke, you know." She said.

"Hn." He said, rolling his eyes but throwing the butt on the ground and stepping on it none-the-less. "Happy?" He spat sarcastically. Sakura smirked.

"Yes."

"What do you want?" He asked, annoyed. She looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You followed me. What do you want?" _Oh…right. What _do_ I want?_ She thought, noticing her stupidity. _Why did I follow him?_

"Uh…I, um, met someone. Last night!" She said, suddenly very excited about figuring out the mystery that was the 'Yashi' from last night.

"Hn?" He replied. She considered that as an 'And? How does this include me?'

"He knew you! In fact, there were two of them and they were asking questions about you." At this, Gaara tensed, now giving her his full attention. She took this as encouragement and continued. "Well, first off they scared me to death by pulling me from my car. Then one of them asked if I knew you. Then they wanted to know if I knew your dorm number or anything that could 'help' them."

Gaara was as stiff as a board and his eyes were wider than usual as he listened to her.

"Then, one of them told me to give you a message next time I saw you."

"Which was what?" He asked his voice raspy and low.

"He said, and I quote, 'Tell him that Uncle Yashi misses him.'" she finished, watching him for any reaction.

Gaara was quiet for an unhealthy amount of time as he stared at her. "You're _sure_ that's what he said?"

"Positive." She nodded.

He was quiet again, looking up at the sky.

"Who are they?" Sakura braved to ask. "What do they want with you?"

His gaze fell back down to her and it made her feel like she'd rather be anywhere else. The anger in his eyes was the strongest she had ever seen. "Well, the one that gave you the message was obviously my uncle." He said harshly and Sakura shook her head.

"I didn't mean that, idiot. I can tell that much." Somehow, even in his current angered state, she managed to call him an idiot and to be sarcastic. "What I meant is, what are they to you? If he's your uncle, shouldn't he already know where you are?"

"Just forget about it." Gaara said bitterly before turning and walking away from her and back to the courtyard and other students. Sakura scurried to catch up.

"But I can't! He gave the message to me and if I hadn't told you, you wouldn't even know. I think I deserve a _little_ bit of information." She whined and he whirled around just before they returned to the courtyard. He was inches from her shocked face and his warm breath spilled out over her face. Suddenly, she was aware of how close he was to losing it. _Maybe I pushed him a little too much?_

"You want a little bit of information?" He stated and she managed to nod weakly and then gulped. His glare didn't lessen. "Okay, here's something." He stepped closer to her, his face less than an inch from hers. "This has nothing to do with you." Then he turned and left. She watched him, stunned.

"Gaara!" She called and he stopped, turning to glare at her from the corner of his eye.

"What?" He hissed out.

"Good luck, with whatever it is you're planning to do." She said before turning and heading to where she saw her friends were grouped. Shocked, confused, jade eyes followed her every move as she made her way across the courtyard.

_Good luck?_ Gaara thought. _Good luck? Why would she say that? She doesn't even know what I'm going to do_. He watched as Sasuke placed his arm over her shoulders and then he turned, stomping to his car, pushing the confusing thoughts the pinkette invoked away. _Yashamaru's here? And if he's here, Yondaime must be as well. He must have been the other one she was talking about. I thought I was done with them?_ Gaara's thoughts spun as he punched the gas, tires squealing as he sped out the parking lot. _I need a distraction. And I need it _now!

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Sakura stared at the ceiling before sighing once again. It was one in the morning and she had school in the morning yet she could not get herself to sleep. _Come on, sleep, body sleep!_ She thought, scrunching her eyes closed. After a few seconds she sighed again and sat up, throwing the covers from her and standing up. She stretched a little. _Well…what do I do?_ Her gaze landed on her window and she though about sky watching. _It's been so long since I've looked at the stars. That always calms me_. She climbed up through the window before slaying back on the roof. A gust of wind blew then and she shivered. _It's colder than I remembered_, she thought.

Just then, a puff of smoke entered the side of her vision and she turned in that direction. She spotted Gaara sitting on the dorm roof a building over. Then buildings were spaced about ten feet from each other and she wasn't that far so she could easily make out the unnerving jade eyes as he watched.

_He looks confused_, she thought, noticing the way he seemed to question why she was there. She smiled, waving at him slightly. She could see his eyes roll before he got up and started walking down his building toward hers. _Wait, so if he going to shout across the buildings?_ She thought, but that was quickly disproved.

About eight feet from the edge, his speed picked up as he ran and then jumped smoothly across the buildings and landed effortlessly. Without missing a step, he walked over to her. Looking down at her, he studied her for a moment before speaking.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Couldn't sleep. You?"

"Can't sleep." He stated and he sat down about two feet from her, his arms resting on his knees casually. He lit a cigarette and Sakura wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"You shouldn't do that. It's not healthy."

He looked at her with a side glance. "Like I care about my health." He said, before smirking and blowing a puff of smoke in her face just like he had this afternoon. She started coughing again, waving at the smoke to go away. Then she glared at his slightly amused face.

"Jerk." She said which only cause him to seem even more amused. "When I die of second-hand smoke, you know how to blame." He rolled his eyes but stomped the cigarette out on the roof.

"You're annoying." He stated.

"People keep telling me that." She said, turning away from him to watch the sky again. She shivered as the wind picked up once more. She heard Gaara shuffle a little before a warm material was placed on her shoulders. She looked at him shocked as she held onto his jacket that was around her.

He was pointedly ignoring her, staring up at the sky as he lay on his back, his hands behind his head. The usual smirk wasn't fastened on his face and Sakura found herself smiling softly to herself. _Well, he _is_ kind of hot._ She admitted, watching his chest rise and fall with his soft breaths. _And apparently muscled._

"What are you looking at?" He growled, looking at her from the corner of his eyes. She smiled and shook her head.

"Sorry. And thank you."

"Hn." He said, turning his gaze back to the sky. Sakura lay down beside him, holding his jacket close to her as the wind blew around her. _It smells like him_, she thought as a distinctive smell hit her. _Hmm………cinnamon and……I don't know, but it's definitely masculine. It's fiery……definitely fits him. _Sakura smiled at the thought as they sat in a comfortable silence. Eventually, curiosity got the best of her and Sakura turned to Gaara.

"So…..did you find your uncle?"

Gaara was quiet for a minute before he turned her gaze back to her. It was calm, which surprised her after his severe anger from today.

"No. If I had, I doubt I'd be here." He stated at last.

"Why?" she asked, rolling over to look at him better. Her leg brushed his as she stared in his deep jade orbs. He didn't answer. Instead, he just watched her, studying her as she did the same to him. Her eyes went from his to the blood red tattoo on his forehead. His words from when she'd first brought it up echoed in her head.

'_I didn't _choose_ the tattoo and I didn't _choose _the spot_.'

_What had he meant by that?_ She wondered. _Wonder if he'd get mad if I asked………_ "Gaara?" His eyes focused on her and she took this to mean 'go on.' "What did you mean, when we first met at the club, and you said that you didn't choose that tattoo or the place?" She asked nervously, looking down before she finished. Whenever he didn't start yelling at her for being nosy, she peeked up from under her eyelashes and saw that he was looking at her was that was a contemplative manner, like he was deciding whether or not to tell her.

"My…..my uncle chose the tattoo. And the place." He finally said. Sakura didn't know how to respond so she stayed quiet.

Sakura laid her head on her arms, watching him through her now-drooping eyes. _I guess I'm tired after all,_ she thought, trying to hold in the yawn. Her eyes blinked slowly and they closed little by little.

The last thing she saw was jade.


	7. Chapter 7

**So…sorry? Yes, it has been awhile, but you see, we had homecoming and I had to work on that, so homecoming = very little free time. So, sorry for lack of updates. Things should be closer to normal now.**

**Well…here we go! **

Sakura awoke to the sunshine shining through her window right in her face. A lazy smile made its way onto her visage as she sat up, stretching. _I don't think I've ever had a better nights sleep, _she thought, getting up. Then the night's events tumbled into her mind and she sat with an 'oomph' back on her bed.

_How did I get back in here in my bed? Did Gaara bring me here? How'd he manage that? _

"Sakura, get up! School's in thirty minutes!" Ino yelled. _Thank God it's Friday, _Sakura thought, getting dressed and casting all the distracting thoughts of the temperamental redhead from her mind.

"I'm up!" She yelled back, quickly going through the normal morning routine. They were ready within moments and quickly left to meet up with TenTen and Hinata.

"Hey, guys, I've got to go talk to someone," Sakura said, spotting an unusually early flash of red. She rushed off, not waiting for her friends' reply. "Gaara!" She called as she approached him. He was leaning casually against a building, eyes down-cast as he brought a smoke to his lips. At her voice, his head rose only slightly and his jade eyes met hers. Sakura panted as she stopped a few feet from him. He looked at her disinterestedly before letting out an almost inaudible sigh, leaning away from the building and casting the cigarette on the ground, stomping it out.

"G' Morning," Sakura said when she caught her breath. She smiled as he put out his cigarette. "And thanks."

"Hn," was his reply as she stared at her. She implied the 'hn' to mean 'hurry up and get on with what you want, I don't have all day,'

"Thank you, for bringing me inside. I hadn't meant to fall asleep on the roof." She babbled.

"Hn," he answered, walking past her as the warning bell rang. She rushed to catch up with him.

"'Hn'? Can you not think of a reply that involves an actually word? Maybe even just one syllable." She complained, walking backwards in front of him. He glared at her but otherwise didn't reply. "Cat got your tongue? What, am I not worthy of a reply from the _great_ Gaara no Sabaku?"

"Hn," Gaara said, his eyes flashing dangerously to something over her shoulders. Sakura turned in time to see the murderous glare Sasuke sent to Gaara before his eyes rested on hers. He grabbed her hand and jerked her away from Gaara as if he had the plague.

"Oh, morning Sasuke." Sakura said, pretending to be unaware of the tense atmosphere that had settled around the three.

Gaara kept walking, brushing past Sasuke in a way that made Sakura take it as a warning. A warning of what?

"I don't want you talking to him," Sasuke said, pulling her behind him into class. Sakura didn't have time to respond as they took their seats and the teacher began the lesson immediately.

_Who does Sasuke think he is?_ Sakura fumed in her mind, not at all paying attention to the teacher as she bore holes into the blackboard. _Telling me who I can and can't talk to._

_**Cha!**_Sakura's inner personality cued in. Sakura was in total agreement.

After class, Sakura stood up, glaring at Sasuke who glared coldly back. "_What_?" he asked.

"I don't appreciate being told what to do, or who I can hang out. Gaara is my friend and you'll just have to accept that." She stated before deftly turning on her heel and walking around towards the redhead in question. Sasuke's strong arms wrapped securely around her waist within seconds and she was pulled against a hard chest. His lips met her ear; his breath sending cold chills down her spine.

"You will do what I say, when I say it. Got it, _Sa-ku-ra?_" He drew out her name as if he were mocking her. Sakura gulped, nodding lamely. "You are _mine_, not _Sabaku's_." She decided right then she didn't like being 'owned' but didn't see a way to change such a thing. "Understand?" She nodded again and all but her hand was released, which rest securely in Sasuke's. He gave her a warning squeeze before leading her away from Gaara and out of the class. Sakura took the look he shot her to mean 'tell anyone about this and I'll make you regret it'.

Just before she was whisked from the room, she turned her head back, glimpsing two orbs of jade.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

"So, since Naruto's feeling better, Kiba's throwing a party for him. It's just a small party though, nothing close to two week ago," Ino explained as Sakura met up with the group. Sasuke nodded.

"We'll be there," he answered for Sakura, his eyes flickering to Sakura's who simply nodded, still mulling over what had just happened.

"Sakuuurrraaa," Ino said, waving her hand in front of the spacing pinkette.

"Eh?" said girl answered, proving that she wasn't paying attention.

"Ugh, you're always spacing, forehead!" The blonde yelled.

"No I'm not, Ino-Pig!"

"Take that back, Billboard Brow!"

"Ino-Pig, Ino-Pig, Ino-Pig," Sakura chanted, only causing the blonde to fume.

"I said take it _back_," and with that, the blonde had sprung. Sakura landed on the ground hard, Ino landing on top of her.

"Gosh, Ino, you're even as _heavy_ as a pig," Sakura stated, pushing Ino off of her. The blonde screamed in frustration, knocking the pinkette again as they rolled in the dirt, trying to one-up the other.

"Girls," Kiba said, shaking his head.

"Hn," Sasuke agreed.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

_I can't believe they're throwing another party, after the disaster two weeks ago,_ Sakura thought, fixing her hair in the mirror.

"Forehead! Let's _go_!" Ino yelled. Sakura quickly slipped on a pair of heels before rushing to meet Ino.

Ino and Sakura were the last ones at Kiba's apartment.

"Finally!" Naruto stated as soon as they were through the door. Sakura laughed as Ino rolled her eyes and they sat beside their boyfriends. Sasuke maneuvered them so that Sakura sat on his lap and they sat that way through the movie TenTen had put on. It was obvious though that school had worn out the group, for halfway through the movie, almost everyone had fallen asleep in some way or matter.

All except a certain raven-haired boy.

"Sakura," Sasuke whispered into the pinkette ear. Sakura groaned, pressing herself further into Sasuke's arms. "Sakura, wake up," He whispered again. When she didn't respond, he rolled his eyes, annoyed, before moving her until he stood with her in his arms, bridal style.

"S-Sa-suke?" Sakura mumbled sleepily as the cold night air hit her face. Sasuke's dark eyes flashed to her's.

"Finally," he mumbled, continuing to walk.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked, suddenly more alert. Sakura had entered another building and was currently working on holding her up and unlocking the door in front of them. "Sasuke?" Sakura asked, wiggling from his grasp, trying to make him release her. His hold on her only strengthened and she froze. _What's going on?_ "S-S-Sasuke?" Sakura asked again. Just then, Sasuke got the door opened and she carried inside as she tried desperately to get out of his arms. "Let me _go_, Sasuke! Stop it! Let me go!" She yelled, fighting as best she could. He released her legs and pressed her against a wall with his body. His lips found their way to her ear as his foot slammed the door behind them.

"I told you we weren't finished before," Sakura froze as the meaning of his words sunk in.

"Sa-Sasuke, I-I'm not r-ready for th-that," she said shakily, trying to push him away while backing up. Sasuke just pressed himself against her harder.

"That's too bad," his cold voice said. Sakura felt a chill come over her as he continued, "Because I don't take rejection well."

"Sa-suke, wh-what are y-you saying?" Sakura was terrified as Sasuke's hand started to make lazy circles on her stomach.

"Don't worry, you'll enjoy yourself, I promise." Sakura's stutter-filled reply was cut off and Sasuke's lips crushed against hers. His hand found its way to her breast and Sakura struggled weakly in his harsh grasp. With his other hand, Sasuke grabbing her wrists, holding them above his head as he pressed his body heavily against her own. She tried to scream, tried to do anything, but he was too strong, over-powering her and forcing her skirt from her legs. It fell, wrapping around her ankles as tears started to leak down Sakura's face.

_Well, at least this isn't my first time. I can't imagine Sasuke being gentle if it were._ He unzipped his pants and Sakura started panicking, thrashing around madly. She received a punch in the gut before he started his evil deed.

Searing pain came from her lower area. She found herself crying out in pain as he continued to attack her body forcefully. She felt like she was being torn in half and quickly went limp, seeing as it made the pain somewhat less horrid. It was over much too slowly but it _was _eventually, thankfully, over.

Sasuke pull his pants up before kneeling down to her. He placed a gentle hand on her chin, forcing her to look at him. The gentle, soothing action was contradictory to what he had just done.

"Sakura, you are now _mine_, got it? I don't want you ever to talk to Sabaku again. Plus," his eyes grew colder as he stared at her angrily. "Don't _ever_ tell anyone of this, got it?"

She nodded weakly, tears continually leaked from her eyes. A sob made its way out her throat and he sighed. "Get dressed; I'll take you back to your dorm." He stood and she trembled as she followed, pulling her skirt up. Once she was presentable, Sasuke grabbed her hand, pulling her from the room. He stopped just before entering her room and turned to her.

"Remember, tell _no_ one." Sakura nodded before rushing into her apartment, slamming the door.

Sakura slid down the door to the floor, shaking all over. _What just happen? I can't believe this. What's Ino going to say? What about the guys? Or TenTen or Hinata? I can't believe Sasuke would do such a thing. I…I just can't believe this. It must be a dream. Or, a horrible, horrible nightmare. Yes that's it. There's no way that Sasuke would…Sasuke would…_

She started crying again. _I feel so dirty. I…I need a shower_. She got up, forcing her trembling limbs to carry her to the bathroom. She stripped of the clothing, throwing the skirt away, before stepping into the hot stream. She grabbed a washcloth, scrubbing furiously as her skin. _It…it won't come off. The dirty feeling, it won't leave. Why won't it leave?_ As her hand scrubbed uselessly at her leg, she felt the stubble that had grown there. _Well…I guess while I'm in the shower…_she grabbed the razor and the gel, running the blade smoothing across her skin. She jumped slightly when there was a pinch, followed by a faint trickle of blood being washed away by the water.

_That…_

She ran the razor again over her skin, applying more presser, and watched transfixed as a thicker trail of blood started down her leg.

_That felt…_

She continued the action on the other leg before sighing.

_That felt like it was…releasing everything. _

**Hm…Well…that was…admittedly slightly disturbing to write. Especially the rape scene. Wow. What is **_**wrong**_** with my mind? **

**Also, I have NO idea about either of these things, so uh…if I get it wrong, don't kill me, kay? I know a few people who…um...I'm not sure how to say it but, well they cut themselves, okay? But I don't know exactly how it works and their thoughts or anything, and if you happen do that…um…no offense? I encourage my friends to not do that and I'll do the same to you. ****And, just to add something, rape is not right in the least, I'm not saying it is, and I'm not playing around. That is some seriously stuff. **

**Anywho, this is getting a bit personal, something I like to avoid if possible. **

**So...thoughts?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, a little jump in time. **

**Sunday night/Monday morning (skipping Saturday and Sunday)**

Gaara sat on the roof as he usually did unless he was with a girl. Involuntarily, he's eyes kept flashing over to the pinkette's roof, subconsciously hoping she'd climb out of her window and sit so he could at least look at her.

And maybe he could think of an excuse to go talk to her.

For some reason, Gaara found that he liked talking to Sakura. She didn't throw herself all over him and she wasn't outwardly spiteful to him just because he happened to be her first and now wanted basically nothing to do with her. He guessed it was his fault though. He had learned a long time ago that when you took a girl's first from her, she was unusually clingy and almost impossible to get away from. This usually resulted in him breaking up with them before long and them fighting tears every time they saw him.

Not that he cared.

Though, Sakura surprised him. She acted as if nothing had even happened. She didn't cry whenever she saw him and she didn't demand he become her boyfriend now that they were going to the same school. No.....she was different.

And it confused yet intrigued Gaara.

No matter how much he tried to fit her into his already existing genre called 'girls = annoyances', he couldn't do it. She just wouldn't go along with it.

First, she wasn't scared of him. True, Gaara would never hit a girl; he just wouldn't feel right doing something like that. But, he could be pretty heartless when it comes to emotions and words. He was completely insensitive, couldn't care less. He could break almost every girl he'd ever been with through just a few simple words and he would sleep just as easily at night, which would be not at all. So, even though he never hurt a girl physically, they feared him just as much as guys simply because of the emotional pain he could put them through. _Girls are too sensitive_, he concluded. But Sakura.......she was different. He had purposely called her things that he knew would make her feel horrible. Annoying, for one. But she always came back, purposely sought him out.

Gaara came to the conclusion that she's a masochist.

Secondly, she never reacted like he thought she would. Whenever he kissed almost any girl, they would lose control, automatically craving his touch and wanting more. Sakura had pushed him away, claiming she had to go. When he made a comment about that night, instead of feeling even slightly special that he remembered it when compared to all the other nights and girls he had, she had gotten mad, yelling at him in front of everyone. Of course, he had been _trying_ to make her mad at him, but never had a girl openly expressed her anger at him alone or _in front of a crowd_. She had guts, he'd give her that.

Gaara concluded that she was just crazy, that explains her oddness.

Then there was the fact that she was constantly on him about smoking. It wasn't that this was necessarily a big factor in everything, but it was definitely different for Gaara. There were lots of girls that didn't like him smoking, but they'd never said it to him like she had. They didn't bug him about it every time they saw him and he was smoking. Also he'd never openly allowed anyone to tell him what to do. Why he'd given into her demands that he not smoke, even if only in her company, did not make sense to him. He made his own rules, he didn't follow other rules.

Gaara decided that he simply wanted to save himself the headache that would come if he didn't give in to her demands. Well......_just_ that _one_.

Another thing was the fact that he felt the need to.......to _protect_ her. He knew that the Uchiha was no good. _Knew_ the kinds of things he did. Gaara considered him even worse than himself. He'd heard rumors of.....of the Uchiha _forcing_ himself on girls. The thought sickened him. And the thought of him forcing himself on _Sakura_...........it put a bad taste in his mouth and made him want to go bash Uchiha's face in, even if the rumors were lies. Not that he'd ever know. Still, he didn't like the idea of the Uchiha doing _anything_, willing or not, to the pinkette. There was something about her that made him just want to kill anyone who ever even _thought_ of doing her harm. Which was ridiculous. Gaara didn't _protect_ people, he fought, he cheated, but he didn't _protect_. Gaara was a monster,_ not_ a guardian angel. Far from it. What was it Sakura had said? Oh right, he lived in the fiery pits of Hades.

Still, the feeling was there. And it irked him.

Occasionally, he found himself just wanting to pull Sakura from Sasuke's hold and wrap her up in his own arms, keeping her safe from all the evils that plagued her. But that would be ridiculous. Not only would she most likely freak out and never want to see him again, something Gaara found distaste in even imagining, but Gaara was also one of those evils. Being around him......it would only cause her trouble, especially with Yashamaru in town.

_Yashamaru._ Gaara felt a growl come from his chest and his face morphed into that was someone how was extremely disgusted._ Yashamaru.......he should have stayed away, because now if I see him, I'm going to kill him. Like I should have done all those years ago. All those years ago_........Gaara closed his eyes as a pounding headache throbbed between his temples. He grabbed at his head, groaning in the pain that the memories of long ago brought up. _No, I don't even need to think about that. There's no point in torturing myself_. _Still......._Gaara felt a wave of overwhelming helplessness wash over him. _No, no. I will _not _give him the satisfaction of getting to me. _

Gaara sighing, trying to clear his mind from the conflicting thoughts. _Stupid insomnia........sleep would probably feel really good right now._

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Sakura moaned in her sleep, tossing over and over.

_Sakura ran as fast as she could down the hallway. A dark voice whispered behind her, "I told you we weren't finished before."_

_Sakura held in her scream, running faster and faster, but the door just wouldn't come within her reach. Something hard struck her back and she went down. She crawled to the door, feeling the tears come from her eyes, blurring her vision._

_"Oh, don't want to? Too bad; I don't take rejection well_."

"_Please, Sasuke, d-don't do th-this!" Sakura wailed in her helplessness. She was turned onto her back, staring up at the blurry outline of Sasuke. His hand went to her 'area' and she cried more._

"_What? Don't like this? Well not all of us can be Sabaku, sorry."_

_"S-Sasuke, please don't!" She sobbed. He didn't listen to her._

_"You'll like this. You'll see that I'm a _lot_ better than Sabaku."_

_Sakura couldn't even talk anymore through her tears and sobs. Then, Sasuke decided he'd had enough of this and his hand went to her skirt zipper. He-_

Sakura awoke shaking all over and tear streaming down her face. She quickly wiped them away, trembling. It was like it had just happened and she felt dirty all over again. _Release, yes that's what I need. _she thought, shakily going to the bathroom. She locked the door, taking slow wavering breaths, attempting to calm herself. It wasn't working. She opened her eyes, a newfound deliberate determination filling them as she grabbed the razor. _Where? _She found herself thinking, looking down at her legs. Her sleeping attire, a tank top and long pants, allowed her to hide the bandages, but she couldn't afford anymore on her legs. She'd gone overboard and they were already sore. But......there was no way she could hide any on her wrist for the time it would take it to heal. She found herself getting wobbly. Without thinking, she stepped out of her pants and into the shower. She ran the razor against her thigh, sighing at the pent up emotions poured out of her; as the emotional pain left her as physical pain.

_Better,_ she thought, _it's manageable now. Dirty,_ she thought, stripping of her other clothes and turning on the shower. It was only about five in the morning but she had to take a shower. Now. _Get the dirty feeling off._

A few minutes later, there was a light knock at the door.

"Sakura?" Ino's sleepy voice said.

"Y-yeah?" Sakura asked, unsure.

"What are you doing up so early?"

"Bad dream," Sakura answered, feeling the pain and dirty feeling easing back into her. She turned the hot water up, trying to fight the chill that had settled onto her body.

"Want to talk about it?"

"N-no, I'm just going to finish up and then I'll be out." _Don't ask any more, don't ask any more, _Sakura silently prayed.

"Well alright. I guess I'll go make some coffee. No use in going back to bed this late. Or.....early? Heck, I don't know, it's five-thirty in the morning." Ino complained and Sakura heard her disappearing footsteps. She grabbed the razor, feeling guilty as her drew it across her other thigh and a trail of blood ran down her leg. _She shouldn't have brought it up. _She thought, wishing this was all just a nightmare and not reality. _This was supposed to be some great year. Something big was supposed to happen, but not something like this. Why me?_

Tears began to stream down her face and she leaned back against the wall, the water flowing over her as she looked up at the ceiling. _Why me?_ She repeated in her head._ Why, why, _why_? It makes no sense. What did I do to deserve this…..this…this…this _pain_! This suffering. What did I ever do to you, _she thought vehemently to whoever was listening.

"Sakura? You okay?" Ino's voice came once more through the door.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Sakura answered, grabbing a gauze pad and wrapping it around her two thighs. Then she climbed out the shower, cringing when a fresh jolt of pain went through her body. _But I deserve it. I'm dirty, not longer innocent or good. I'm trash. _She grabbed a towel, made sure it covered her new wounds and scuttled across the hall and into her room. There, she carefully pulled on a pair of loose jeans and a deep red shirt. She looked in the mirror at the girl whose eyes looked deader than usual. She practiced a smile, cringing internally at the girl in the mirror. _No matter what, I'll know the truth. The pain and the uncleanness I feel. But I can't let the other know. I _can't_. _

So, with her smile planted firmly on her face, Sakura made her way into the kitchen to begin a day of lies and pretend.

**Well…..it's sooner than usual. How is it? Kind of a filler, honestly. Lots of thoughts and feelings.**


	9. Chapter 9

_Something's off_, Gaara thought, watching the pinkette across the courtyard chatting with her friends. _The happiest person in the freaking world doesn't smile as much as she has today._ Gaara took another drag from his cigarette before blowing it out and throwing it to the ground, stepping on it. He started across the courtyard, his hands in his pockets casually. He walked right to the group, ignoring their confused stares as he walked up to the girl on Sasuke's arm, who was _still_ smiling thatstupid smile. He grabbed her by the arm, pulling her from Sasuke's grip.

"Wh-" She started, but didn't get to finish as he drug her away without a word; Sasuke's glare burning a hole in his back as he brought her behind one of the buildings. Sakura snatched her arm back. "Just what's wrong with you?!" She yelled and he just stared.

"What's wrong with _you_?" He asked. She froze, paling and shook her head.

"I-I'm fine. Nothing's wrong. I h-have no idea what you're talking ab-bout." Sakura stuttered, shaking her head. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. _Yeah, that definitely proves that you're alright, _he thought. Then the small voice that loved to torture him whispered in his head, _why do you care anyway? It's not like it's any of your business. _Sakura and the voice seemed to be on the same page because suddenly, her eyes filled with a newfound determination. "Besides," she started, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, "even if s-something _was_ wrong, why would I tell _you_?"

Gaara's mind was spinning between figuring out what was wrong with her and figuring out _why_ he wanted to know in the first place. Also, why didn't anyone else know? The dead, faraway look in her eyes was an obvious give-away, the nonstop ridiculous smile another; yet it was like all of her friends were oblivious. _I've spent a total of probably about two days with this girl and already can tell things her _best_ friends can't. Either her friends suck or..._Gaara didn't want to finish that thought.

Ignoring the gut feeling he had that something was indeed _extremely _wrong with her, he shook his head, closing his eyes. "Whatever," he said, which was his own little way of apologizing without _actually_ apologizing. However, just before he walked past her and back to the courtyard, she grabbed his arm. He half-turned, giving her a look.

"Uh..." she thought before shaking her head, releasing his arm. "S-sorry," she said, walking past him. He watched her as she disappeared around the corner.

"Hn," he said to no one in particular, turning and walking around the building to his next class. As he sat in class, the first one there for once, his thoughts swam around the strange pinkette. _Something's wrong. Whether she'll admit it or not. But why does it bother me?_

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Sakura was calm on the outside, freaking out on the inside. _"What's wrong with _you_?" _Gaara's words echoed in her mind. Of all the people, the only one who had even_ hinted_ at the fact that they thought something was off about her was him. Sakura had been sure that Ino would have noticed first thing when she walked out of her room and into the kitchen. She hadn't. Then she felt sure that TenTen, or Hinata especially, would notice the subtle change in their pink-haired friend. They hadn't. And of course Sasuke noticed, but he didn't care. She had been certain that no one else would have a chance of noticing, and she hadn't been sure if that had made her happy to be able to hide such a demeaning fact, or disappointed that her friends paid so little attention to her that they couldn't realize that the smile plastered on her face was forced.

But, _he_ had noticed. Of all the people, of all her friends, _Gaara no Sabaku_ had been the only one to notice. And she'd almost told him. Almost confided in him. She could have laughed at herself for her stupidity. Gaara wouldn't care. Why he even asked her what was wrong in the first place puzzled her but it didn't matter. Gaara _did not_ care about her, or anyone else for that matter. Besides, voicing it would only make it real. Make it true. As long as it was never spoken, she could pretend that it was all just a nightmare. That the dangerous look in Sasuke's eyes was just make-believe. That the sweet moments in-between when Ino or someone else was around were true.

No, she didn't need to tell Gaara. Or anyone else for that matter...right?

_I'm crazy_, she thought, i_f I thought Gaara would be sympathetic, a shoulder to cry on. I _must_ be losing my mind. He probably would have laughed at me, made fun of me, or been as cold as usual. But what if..._

Sakura shook such thoughts from her mind as she entered seventh period. As soon as she stepped into the door, Sasuke released her hand with a squeeze, heading to his seat on the other side of the room. He hadn't been happy about Gaara taking her away to talk and Ino had, stupidly, continued to tease her, saying she had a secret affair with the redhead. If the dangerous flash that she had seen go through Sasuke's eyes were warning, she'd be paying for that later. Sakura gulped as she headed up the stairs to her seat, looking at her feet.

As if feeling his eyes on her, Sakura looked up, meeting the jade stare their owner was giving her. Gaara watched her intently as she went to her seat, coincidentally two rows ahead of him and one to the right. Sakura blushed under his deep gaze and found herself wishing for class to be over. _But then Sasuke will probably make good on his unspoken threat_, her mind reminded her. _Still..._ she turned slightly, looking through her hair to see that Gaara was _still_ watching her. The warmth on her face spread to her limbs and a pleasant tingling went through her. Sakura looked ahead, pointedly ignoring the heated stare from the redhead as the teacher began the lecture.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

_If he doesn't stop staring at me_…..Sakura thought the empty threat in her head once again. There was three minutes remaining in class and Gaara had continued to stare at her for _the entire class!_ And apparently, it was beginning to be noticed for a few girls were giving Sakura dirty looks as well.

_Come on, come on. Just a little bit longer,_ Sakura thought, bouncing nervously in her seat. She was up and out the door as soon as the bell rang._ Finally_, she thought, feeling like a heavy pressure had been removed from her chest. She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes. A hard grip suddenly appeared on her arm. She knew who it was and allowed one more deep breath before opening her eyes to his obsidian eyes.

"Sakura," he stated, or more like growled. She gulped as he started to drag her away from the crowd. _He's not planning on...is he? _Her eyes widen in fear as he started to bring her behind a building. She struggled but his hand started to dig until her arm. She released a whimper of pain and stopped fighting. Tears welled up in her eyes and a feeling of helplessness washed over her as he finished pulling her from the view of the oblivious crowd.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Gaara watched as Sakura flew through the door as soon as the bell rang. He got up lazily, still running the same questions through his head. As he stepped out the classroom, his eyes unintentionally went to the pinkette, spotting the raven-haired boy making his way to her. He grabbed her arm just before Sakura opened her eyes. His back was too Gaara but he saw the way Sakura's eyes widened in fear as he started to pull her behind one of the buildings. He saw the tears that welled up in her eyes just before she was pulled completely from his view.

For a moment, Gaara was frozen, still not exactly sure if what he'd saw had actually happened. _That...that _must_ be what's wrong with her. Uchiha...that-that sick, twisted...twisted..._Gaara couldn't think of a harsh enough term for the Uchiha but as he regained awareness of his body, he realized he was running towards the spot where they had disappeared. He gritted his teeth, almost feeling the sensation of the Uchiha's bones snapping beneath his fist. He could practically _taste_ his blood. A growl rumbled out of Gaara's throat as he rounded the corner, eyes full of bloodlust. Sasuke Uchiha was going to _die_.

_What? They...they went back here,_ he thought, not spotting the object of his anger or the pink-haired girl. He grabbed his hair in frustration. Then he heard a loud sound. Laughter. _Sounds like that annoying blonde chick..._He couldn't remember her name.

"Sakura! Hey, Sasuke! Over here!" She yelled. Gaara eyes narrowed as he went back to the edge of the courtyard, spotting the couple walking to their small group of friends. Sakura was looking down and Sasuke was practically dragging her by her hand. Gaara growled again, seeing nothing but the black-haired _rapist_. As they met the group, they were included into the conversation of whatever, but as Gaara stalked towards them, eyes full of murder, it didn't take long for them all to notice. They didn't have to wonder long as to what was wrong with him though, for as soon as Gaara was in arms reach, his fist pulled back and slammed into the Uchiha's face. Before they could react, Gaara was on top of him, punching him repeatedly wherever he could hit him. Sasuke groaned, trying to get out from under the furious redhead, but it wasn't working. The others were all trying to get Gaara off of him. Some were cursing him out. A few teachers had come rushing out, trying to break up the fight.

No one even noticed the pinkette standing slightly farther back than the rest, her face void of all emotion other than shock.

It was then that everyone realized Gaara was yelling something.

"You sick, twisted _rapist_! If you _ever_ even think about touching her or anyone else again, I'll freaking _kill you_!" By this time, they had gotten the struggling redhead off of Sasuke, who was leaning on Naruto to stand up. Sasuke pushed the blonde away, walking closer to Gaara. Sasuke smiled a toothy grin, surprising everyone. Then he spat; blood landing on Gaara's cheek. Gaara growled, struggling even harder with the arms holding him.

"I'll do whatever I want, Sabaku. She is mine, after all." Sasuke whispered, his words unheard by everyone other than the intended. Gaara's eyes flashed an unhealthy golden as the sun's rays hit them.

"I'm warning you, Uchiha. I _will_ kill you if you touch her again. I swear it."

Sasuke just smirked as they pulled Gaara away. "Mr. Sabaku..." A teacher began the lecture but Gaara ignored him. Instead, he was watching the pinkette currently shifting nervously behind the group of friends who were talking to Sasuke. Most likely wondering why Gaara had attacked him and what was with his yelled words. No one seemed to notice the small girl. She was completely ignored by everyone.

Everyone except a certain redhead.

**Um...I'm not too sure about this chapter. It was actually kind of hard to write and still doesn't seem to quite work together. I've reread it eight times, made corrections and everything, and rewritten parts multiple times tough, so I hope it's not a complete failure. **

**Please tell me your thoughts so I can improve. Hope I got all the (...)'s right this time. *grins* **


	10. Chapter 10

Sakura stared at the red liquid spiraling down the drain. Her thoughts drifted to earlier that afternoon. _"You sick, twisted _rapist_! If you _ever _even think of touching her or anyone else again, I'll freaking _kill you_!"_ Sakura shuddered. He knew. She didn't know how, didn't want to _know_ how, but he did. And that's what scared her the most.

_But..._

He had attacked Sasuke, had acted..._protective_. It confused Sakura. She was nothing to him. Why should he care?

Sakura stood up and dried off, wincing as the towel's threads brushed against her newest scars. She walked into her room, sitting on the bed and staring at nothing in particular. As if by fate, she had chosen the wall with a window. The window that just happened to be open and allowed a single gust of wind in, teasing her with the promise of it's coolness. _It would clear my head..._she thought, easing up from the bed. Then, without another thought, she climbed through the window and up onto the roof.

A sigh passed Sakura's lips as she laid back and stared at the starry sky. _How I wonder what it'd be like to be up there, among the stars. They make it look so easy...unlike life. What's the point of living anymore? It's not like anyone makes it out alive anyway. No matter how famous you are, or what you do, you're still going to die...Maybe-_

"It's cold, you know," a quiet, deep voice said, cutting off her thoughts. A warm, leather smelling object was dropped on top of her. Sakura huddled in its warmth, realizing just how cold she had been.

"Thank you," she whispered, opening her green eyes to the jade orbs watching her curiously. Sakura released a small smile, her first real smile of the day.

"Hn," he replied, sitting casually on the roof, arms on his knees. Sakura found the nervousness returning. _"You sick twisted _rapist..._rapist...rapist...he knows._ Sakura shuddered from the revelation. She turned her back to Gaara, ignoring his intense gaze. She shook her head, burying it in the leather jacket. Tears came to her eyes. She tried to wipe them away but they were only replaced with more. _Please __don't ask if anything's wrong,_ she silently prayed. Sakura squeaked when two arms wrapped around her, pulling her back into a hard object and encasing her in warmth. Sakura's trembling increased as a warm breath passed her ear. "You're colder than I thought," he whispered. Sakura shivered, as if to prove his point. _He knows, he knows, he _knows!_ But...he's not saying anything; in fact, he's holding me like he...like he needs me...why? _

"N-no. You n-need to leave me alone." She whispered. _I'm dirty, too dirty. You shouldn't touch me_, she added in her mind. Gaara's arms slackened from around her and she found herself missing the warmth. _No, I don't deserve this. He's only nice to me to get in my pants, anyway. He thinks I'm an easy score. No one _really_ needs me...No one. _"I-I shouldn't have c-come out here. I n-need to go to b-bed." she added, standing and dropping his jacket in front of him. She walked down the roof, reaching with her feet for the window sill as she hung over the edge. _Don't look at him, don't look at him,_ she continued to say in her mind, staring pointedly at a single shingle on the roof. Her foot made contact with her window ledge and she started to lower herself into her room.

And then, she slipped.

It was like slow motion. Her foot was on the window, and then it was on nothing but air as she dangled, holding onto the roof with her hands. She couldn't even get the strength to cry out for help._ But what if I don't need help? What if I just let go? Would anyone really care? I wonder..._She thoughts had entered a whole new terrain and she let a finger slip off the roof. _What if-_

Warmth encased her hand and then she was being pulled up. Her widened eyes stared into deep jade pools as her feet met stability. "Careful," was all he said, but it meant more to her. _He grabbed me; he saved me. Does that mean...that he cares? _His face was an emotionless mask as he watched her. She lowered herself down again; this time without incident. When he heard the soft 'thump' of her window closing, he rose; heading to his own room.

_Her face...she was so sad, so scared, and then, so determined..._

_Determined about what? _The thought made his stop. What had she been planning? If he had not been there...what would she have done? He didn't want to think about it too much. Shaking the thoughts from his head, he swung himself back into his room, landing with a quiet thump. He went to take a shower, grabbing a random towel strung across the room.

_Her eyes...they're different_, he observed, _they're unnerving._ He stood; the water cascading down his back as he closed his eyes, thinking. _I know I was right; there's no doubt in my mind about that. But, what can I do about it? If she doesn't want help, then I can' do- why do I want to help anyway? Besides the fact that it is a completely wrong, vile, indecen-_ Gaara's eyes flew open as he abruptly shut off the water. _No! No, it's her problem._ He finished, stepping out of the shower. He winced as he caught his own gaze in the mirror; the red scar on his forehead an eternal reminder of...of _that_ night. _I've got problems of my own..._

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ (The Next Morning...)**

Sakura stared at her own body in the mirror._ Those scars...they're more like scratches, nothing serious. But they look worse than they are; they're just sore. Scrapes...not cuts-_

"Sakura! Are you awake?" Ino's voice came through the door. Sakura jumped, grabbing the towel from her morning shower.

"Y-yeah! I'm up!" she yelled back, wincing at the stutter in her own voice. Ino seemed not to notice.

"'Kay, just checking. Coffee's almost ready!" Her voice was moving as she said this and her footsteps quickly faded. Sakura released a breath. _If Ino had opened that door..._ She scrambled across the room, flicking the simple lock. _How could I have forgotten to lock the door? _she nagged herself mentally. _It's a simple concept and I forgot._ Sakura shook her head, grabbing a shirt from her drawer and pulling it on. Then she made the slow progress of pulling on her skirt, hissing in pain as it scraped the scars. When it was on, she looked in the mirror, making sure that there wasn't even a chance of anyone spotting the nasty looking scars on her upper thighs. The skirt, ending just above her knees, would do. She nodded and practiced a small smile in the mirror. And, with that firmly in place, walked out of the room.

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ**

Sakura entered first period late by five minutes. Sasuke was right behind her as they quietly took their seats. The teacher barely gave them a glance, continuing with his lecture. Sakura kept her eyes trained on the ground, almost out of habit. Almost as if she was sure of the intense jade gaze that would be fixated on her.

Only, she didn't feel the normal rush of nervousness and warmth that accompanied such an intense stare.

She casually cast a look over her shoulder, spotting the redhead quietly writing something on a piece of paper. _Notes? He's taking notes?_ Sakura found herself thinking surprisingly. Then, he stopped, folding the note into a quick, functional paper airplane and sending it soaring through the air. She watched as it landed neatly on some girl's lap. Sakura turned away, disgusted, as the girl turned to Gaara with a flirtatious smile. She didn't have to look at him to know what look he'd send her. The one he'd given Sakura. That confident and _oh-so-sexy_ smirk. Sakura shook her thoughts, attempting with all her might to hear the voice of the teacher. She just couldn't concentrate, though. All she could hear was that _whoosh_ of air, followed by a giggle. Knowing the smile she'd send him; the smirk he'd return. _It's all a game, and he's the winner. The only player that knows all the rules. The only player who gets to see the whole board and not just a few steps ahead. _Sakura gritted her teeth together. _No, I don't care. I knew what he was and I have no right to assume he'd change for me...like I'm sure so many others have. __It's not like I'm anything special. I'm just another conquest of his. He wouldn't care if I decided to end it all...no one would care if I decided to end it right here...right now._

Sakura became aware of a pressure on her knee. She looked down to see Sasuke's hand moving in slow, ever-growing circles. Her breath caught as she turned to look at him, eyes wide in fear. He shot her a smirk, a cheap imitation of the one she subconsciously wished would be sent her way. Slowly, his hand rose; revealing layer upon layer of Sakura's legs. She felt the weight of everything fall on her shoulders as his hand neared the scars. _What do I do? What do I do?_ Then, just as he brushed a scar with the smallest of pressure, Sakura jumped out of her seat; her chair dragging across the floor loudly.

Everything ceased as every head turned to the pinkette who was blushing furiously.

"Yes, Haruno?" The teacher asked in his monotone voice. Without a word, Sakura bolted out of the room without sparing a glance to any other in the room. The teacher studied the door for a moment, comtemplating if he should follow her or send someone to see what was wrong. _No, I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe it her time of the month or whatever..._He thought, returning his attention to the class. "Well, as I was saying..."

**Hmm...Wow, I'm not sure about any of my chapters anymore. Though, this one was easier than the last one. Maybe I just have low writing self-esteem...?**

**Alright, excuses. Ready? Well...family came over for Thanksgiving. And...it was Thanksgiving. Also, I have a science project due next week, so you're lucky for this update (I have close to nothing on the project, so if you could pray for me to finish it, I'd be appreciative, thanks).**

**Um...HAPPY LATE THANKSGIVING! Two days, sorry. But, I hope you all had fun-filled days and turkey-filled stomachs! (I, for one, had not a single bite of turkey. I know, STRANGE)**

**Also, it's short, I know. And I'm sorry about that. BUT, it's either...short update now or no update until next Friday. I figured you want the short update now, longer update later. So here you go.**


	11. Chapter 11

Sakura's back slammed into the cold stone of the wall as she tried to control her breathing. _I...I can't do this. It's too much. _She took another shaky breath. _No one cares._ She started for her room across campus. _No one notices me_. She climbed the stairs to her room. _I'm unimportant._ She slid her key into the door and slipped inside, leaving the door open. _I'm dirty._ As she passed through the kitchen, she casually grabbed a knife. _Dirty, unclean, nasty._ The lock on the bathroom door clicked as she flicked it; the tiny sound breaking the silence. The porcelain bathtub was cool under her touch, making goose bumps appear on her skin. The light in the tiny bathroom caught on the surface of the knife, reflecting it into her eyes and fascinating her. _I'm just a burden…nothing more._ She slowly dragged the knife up her arm, barely registering the pain as the crimson stream began to flow. It slowly dripped down her arm and stained the white tiles of the bathroom floor. She repeated the process on the other arm, feeling the pain rush out of her body. A soft smile cross her features as her vision began to blur and a black ring encased the edges. _Now they don't have to pretend…_

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ**

Ino's gaze continually flashed to the door. _Something's wrong, I can feel it. Something to do with Sakura. She's been acting a little odd lately._ For what seemed like the hundredth time, Ino's eyes met TenTen's and she saw her worry duplicated there. _Maybe I should go check on h- _

"E-excuse m-me." A quiet voice rang out during the teachers lecture. All eyes turned to the shy girl in question.

"Yes, Hyuuga?"

"Um, I-I'd like t-to be excused." She stated, blushing.

"For what?"

"Um…I-I'm sorry!" She rushed out, standing and heading to the door. "I-I've really got to go do s-something!" The teacher shook his head and ignored it. _These girls must all be on the same monthly schedule…_

"I've got to go too!" Ino stated, standing up. TenTen stood as well and the two ran out the door after their friend. _Sakura…we're coming. _

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoZ**

Gaara lounged against the wall after first, contemplating whether or not to got to second. It wasn't long before the brunette from before decided to make her appearance, walking flirtatiously over to the redhead. Gaara barely paid her any mind.

"Gaara." She said. "We need to do this quick; I'm not missing third again."

"No, I've got something to do." He said, pulling away from her. He tried to fight to unfamiliar feeling of guilt coursing through his veins. _I haven't done anything…_ He wondered what had caused this shame. Gaara shook his head at his stupidity before turning around quickly and encasing the girl's lip with his. Trying his best to ignore the odd feelings, he bit her lower lip, causing it to bleed into his mouth. She moaned in pleasure and pain and tangled her fingers in his shirt.

And just like that, he was gone. Ten feet away with his hand braced against the wall as he held his head in his other palm. _Why does it feel bad? What's wrong with me?_

"Gaara? Are you okay…?" she trailed off, placing a small hand onto his shoulder. He trembled under her touch before shaking his head violently and snatching away from her.

"Forget this." He said, looking over his shoulder to make sure she understood. She nodded nervously. He turned away and left, walked back to his dorm.

_Something's not right. Why do I feel guilty?_ A vision of pink entered his mind and he scoffed at himself, mentally bashing the picture with a bat. _She's nothing to me. Just another girl…just another gi- _He thoughts cut off as he saw a frantic purple-haired girl run passed him. _That's…one of Sakura's friends. What was her name?_ Before he could think of it, another blur ran passed, this one a blond. She was quickly followed by a brunette as they all ran in the direction of Sakura's dorm. _What's going on? Where's the fire? Is…is something wrong with Sakura?_ Without realizing it, he was chasing after them, wondering what had happened to the pinkette.

They were all staring at the open door to what he assumed was her dorm when he caught up.

"What's up?" he asked, placing his hands in his pockets to hide the slight shake in them. He could smell the wrongness in the air.

They were all slightly shocked to see him. Ino stepped forward cautiously, almost as if she planned to protect the others should he attack them. "Sakura ran out of first. If you hadn't been so caught up in your next 'girlfriend' you might have noticed." _But I did notice, _he thought, remembering the worry he had felt before he had swallowed it down and hid it. "And we're worried."

"Then go in and find her." He said simply, gesturing to the door. Hinata was first, creeping into the door. TenTen followed after shooting Gaara one more wary look. Ino waited a few minutes, watching Gaara as he stepped towards the door. Then without another word, he slipped in; Ino following close behind.

The scent hit Gaara as soon as he stepped into the doorway. _Blood._ He'd recognize the distinctive metallic scent anywhere after…Gaara shook his head, banishing those memories as he suddenly started running through the house, passing Hinata and TenTen as they called Sakura's name. He stopped in front of the bathroom, the source of the smell, and tried the doorknob. When he realized it was locked, he kicked the door in.

"Hey! Just what do you think you're do-" Ino started yelling but she froze as soon as she caught sight of the inside of the bathroom.

Sakura was laying on the ground, a puddle of blood surrounding her. Gaara walked in slowly, leaning down to check her pulse as he addressed Ino. "Call 911."

Ino was too shocked to move. When he didn't hear he leave, he turned to her. "Ino." Her gaze slid to his eyes which scared her more than ever. Those jade orbs were practically burning into her soul as he repeated, "call 911." She nodded, dashing into the kitchen for the phone. Hinata and TenTen looked at her terrified expression before slowly walking towards the bathroom. "Don't come in here." They heard Gaara call and they froze.

_What's going on? What has Ino so scared? _TenTen thought.

_Sakura…what'd you do?_ Hinata worried.

"Trust me…" Gaara continued. "You don't want to see this." He eased her body over, searching for the wound. When he spotted to two long cuts on her forearms, he scanned the room, looking for something to help stop the bleeding. _I don't know where anything is in here. I'm not calling those other two and Ino's too scared to think._ He shook his head before taking off his shirt and ripping it in two. He wrapped it around each of her arms, from elbow to wrist, and tied it tight. _What do I do now?_

He leaned back staring at her broken body. _She…she's dying. Why would she do this?_

Distantly, he could make out the sound of sirens. _So Ino did call. They're coming._ He leaned forward, brushing his fingers against her pale cheeks and into her pink hair. _Hang on Sakura; help's coming._

**Late and short. I guess I let you guys down in both ways. Thankfully, we're out for the holidays after next Friday and then I'll be able to really concentrate on my writing (well, when I'm not with the family).**


	12. Chapter 12

_Wh...where am I?_ Sakura's eyes open before shutting closed again, wincing at the bright light in her eyes. She heard what sounded like a door closing and attempted to open her eyes again when she felt a hand grab hers.

"I...Ino?" she croaked out. Ino handed her a glass of water which Sakura chugged after Ino had helped her sit up. When she was done, Ino took the glass without a word and then she sat down and just stared at Sakura. "Ino? Wh-what's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Because," Ino started, looking away, "I'm going to do one of two things. Slap you for being so stupid or hug you to death. Nether of which is very helpful to your...condition." She turned back to Sakura, her eyes tearing up. "Why? Why did you try to kill yourself, Sakura?"

It was Sakura's turn to look away, the shame on her face speaking volumes. "I...I don't want to talk about it."

"But, Sakura! I find you in the bathroom, with blood _every_where, and you won-"

"You found me?" Sakura cut her off, eyes searching hers.

"Well, I was the second one there, but we were all in the apartment. After you ran out of first, we were all worried about you so we ran out to check on you. Gaara just kind of follo-"

"Gaara was there?" A look of pure shock and fear morphed Sakura's features as she stared at Ino. _No, no, no. He wasn't supposed to...if Ino was the second...why was he...this is bad._

"He was the one that found you. You," Ino choked back a sob as the tears broke free, "you might not be here if it weren't for him. They said that by him simply tying his shirt around your arms, he bought you those extra seconds needed for them to get there. I would thank him...but he left as soon as he saw that you were going to be alright."

"H-He stayed that long?" _Why would he stay that long? Why even come to the hospital?_

"Yeah. He was actually the first one to see you after they bandaged up your arms and gave you a blood transfusion. I...I was with TenTen and Hinata. They were trying to get me to calm down. Sakura, there was so much blood, and it was everywhere. I'm not sure I can go back. I, I just can't!" Ino shook her head, bringing her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Sakura leaned over, wrapping her arm around the blonde and consoling her as best she could.

"I'm sorry, Ino, but there was something I had to know."

"Like what!?" Ino suddenly yelled, standing up and glaring at the pinkette. Sakura flinched back as if Ino had slapped her. Ino _never_ yelled at her. "Did you want to see what it was like to die? Or maybe you just wanted to scare us and didn't think about the actual dying part? What if we hadn't come back? Did you want to see if we cared enough to save you? Or is your life just so horrible that you can't go on? Well let me tell you something, Sakura; there are people out there with worse lives than you! Oh, boo hoo, you got a bad grade! That doesn't give you a reason to scare us all half to death! So what was it?" Ino's voice lowered as she continued to mock Sakura, who was looking out of the window, trying to block out her hurtful words as the tears began to roll down her face. "Did you fail a quiz? Or maybe school's just taking up too much of your time? Homesick? Well, go cry me a river! It's not like you even have a _real_ problem, I mean-"

"Ino." Sakura cut her off. Ino noticed the slight difference in Sakura's voice and it had her worried. Ino shook her head, nothing was wrong with Sakura. She was just being a drama-queen. "Leave." Sakura finished. At first, Ino couldn't believe what she'd just heard.

"Wh-what?"

"I said, 'leave'." Sakura's eyes turned to Ino and it sent shivers down the blonde's spine. Those green eyes were full of nothing, completely empty, as if they were staring through her. Without realizing it, Ino had taken a step back. Then another. Next thing she knew, she was running down the hall and out of the hospital. _I don't know why she's acting all dramatic; it's nothing. She'll calm down in a few days..._

_Ino..._Sakura thought, looking out of the window to see her blonde friend continue to run all the way down the block. The pinkette rolled her eyes emotionlessly. _Ino...you don't know how wrong you are..._

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Gaara sighed for the thousandth time since he had returned to his dorm. _I should have stayed...No, she'd get the wrong idea...but I should have made sure she was alright...she's in a hospital, of course she's alright...I could have asked her what she was thinking...Ino's there; Sakura probably wants to talk to her. Besides, I'm just the one-night-stand. Why would she want to talk to me?_

And also for the thousandth time that night, Gaara talked himself out of going to check on her. He replaced his keys on the counter, which he had grabbed during his mental debate. He had this argument with himself every few minutes and it would always end with him, just about to open the door, and then his minds throws at him..._Why would she want to talk to me? Why would she want anything to do with me? I'm nothing to her. Just another guy..._

Gaara walked in the shower, turning it on before closing the door and staring into the mirror. Gaara's eyes traveled to the scar on his forehead, then he met his own stony gaze and it held him there. He couldn't look away. He gave himself the emotionless look that he gave almost everyone, but he could never understand why people describe it as 'emotionless'. Gaara could spot every emotion he was feeling inside his eyes...the helplessness, the anger, the pain, the self-loathing, the shame, the loneliness...he always stopped there, never wanted to get past that. Loneliness...it could kill a person faster than almost anything.

There was a loud shattering sound as Gaara's fist came into contact with the mirror. _Finally..._He thought, turning away from where the mirror used to be. He barely glanced at his bleeding knuckles as he slipped out of his clothes and into the shower. The cool water numbed his hand and he closed his eyes, leaning against a wall as the weight of everything came over him. His wounded hand clutched at his head, the strands slicing the cuts. Gaara ignored the pain as he felt the blood begin to flow down his face, in a similar fashion as it had before...long before.

Gaara gritted his teeth. _Now is _not_ the time to think of such things, _he berated himself, leaning back into the spray as he subconsciously began to wash.

_Sakura...what are you going to do now?_

**_XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ_**

Sakura walked into her dorm room; slowly closing the door behind her. Her eyes scanned the rooms, sighing. "Ino?" she called, walking into the living room. She spotted the white note waiting for her on the table.

_Sakura,_

_I can't stay in that dorm. I just can't. I'm at TenTen and Hinata's. They said you could come over too and we'd have a girl's night. We're overdue for one of those, right? Your clothes are already packed. See you soon!_

_Ino_

_P.S. Sorry for what I said at the hospital...I didn't mean it._

Sakura read the note once. Twice. After the third time she ripped it up into tiny pieces and threw it all over the ground._ Sorry doesn't take back everything you said...especially when it's all true, _she thought before heading into her room, easily spotting the bag on her bed. She grabbed the bag, unzipped it, and then promptly dumped everything out onto the floor and kicked it over and over again.

After kicking her clothes around for a few minutes, she fell onto her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. _How did I get into this situation? What have I ever done to deserve this? I'm not the nicest person, but I've always been respectful and polite...even to my enemies. What could have possibly angered God to the point that he'd put me through such pain?_ _I...I was right. No one understands what I am going through. No one cares. This time, I'll make sure that I finish it. _Sakura stared at her window determinedly. _Yes, no one will interfere..._ She climbed out of the window and up onto the roof. The cool wind was pressing her back, away from the side, almost to say _'no...don't jump.'_ Sakura ignored its whispered pleas and closed her eyes, taking another small step forward. _Just one more step..._

Just as she took that step, an unknown source of warmth wrapped around her, pulling her back into safety. Sakura's eyes flew open in shock.

"Wh-"

"You stupid, stupid girl." A warm breath whispered into her, followed by a light chuckle.

Sakura pulled away from the person, turning and glaring at the redhead. "What do you know? How do you know anything about me? You don't know what I'm going through; you're just some random guy I used to make me forget my life, if only for just a moment. Why do you keep showing up!? I don't _want_ your help! I don't want to live! I want it all to end! I want...I want...I..." And with that, Sakura feel to her knees, sobbing for the second time that night.

"Sakura..." she heard Gaara whisper, just before his arms encased her again. She pulled away weakly but he tightened his grip, keeping her from moving. "I know a lot more than you'd think." she heard him mumble, but she wasn't sure if he had meant for her to hear it or not. "You didn't notice the stars tonight, did you?" He said, and she felt him shift to look up. Sakura looked up as well and saw just what he meant.

The sky was the clearest she had ever seen. She could easily spot the few constellations she knew and just the pure beauty of the full moon took her breath away._ Beauty…purity…I'm not worthy to be able to lay my eyes on either…I'm ugly and dirty…oh so dirty._

"Sakura," he whispered again, just as she burst into tears. Sakura's fingers latched onto Gaara's shirt as she sobbed uncontrollably. Gaara was shocked at first. He wasn't used to girls crying. Slowly, his hand started making small circles on her back as he held her. He didn't whisper words of comfort like "it's okay" or "everything's fine", and she was thankful. Everything wasn't fine and she wasn't okay.

"Sakura," he repeated while she cried. "I'm here." Those simple two words cause Sakura to lose it. She clung to him as if he was her only lifeline as she poured out all of her pain and suffering since she started college. Gaara just held her, occasionally planting small kisses on her neck or shoulder. Just as she started calm down, the hiccups hit her. She pulled away slightly and looked into his jade eyes with her tear-filled ones.

"Th-thank you." She whispered and she attempted to give him a small smile. He chuckled slightly before wrapping a strand of her pink hair around his finger.

"It's alright to let some of it out you know…" he said, looking down as his voice lowered. "It's not good to keep things in."

"How come you're here?" He raised his head, confused. "Why are you always there, just when I'm about to fix all my problems. Do you enjoy watching me hurt? Do you like my pain? Everywhere I look, you're there. Just before I go to bed, you're there. As soon as I open my eyes, you're there. What have you done to me?" Sakura lowered her voice, feeling very small. "What do you want from me?"

"I want to save you from yourself." He whispered, his warm breath encircling her ear. Sakura shiver in the cold.

"Why would you care?"

He wasn't too quick to answer this one. Sakura sat there, in his lap as she waited for his answer. She counted his breaths. One…two…four…eight… "Because…No one was there..for me." She pulled away, eyes wide. She wasn't sure if she had heard him right. She noticed how his breathing had sped up and his eyes were closed. His arms around her were shaking slightly. She tenderly pressed her hands to his cheeks and his eyes flashed open. They were wide and it was as if he was noticing her for the first time.

"So how do I save myself?" She asked, bring him back to the present.

He engulfed her in a hug, pulling her closer to him. "Just breathe."

So they both took a deep breath.

**Well MERRY CHRISTMAS! GOD BLESS YOU!**

**This is my present to all you awesome reviewers out there...an update!(though, I would have updated it anyway, but we're just going to call it a present, kay?)**

**Believe it or not, but I do actually have a plan with this. And all's according to plan. Question: Am I the only one curious about Gaara's past? He's hinting but...yeah. So, please review! That can be your present to me, a review! Woo! :) (though I'd like to think you'd review anyway :D**


	13. Chapter 13

Sakura woke slowly, her mind fuzzy as she slid her leg across the bed sheets. She snuggled closer to her pillow, her hand tangling in its warm cloth. Her leg slid up over her pillow, feeling the rough texture as she encircled it with her legs. She sighed, utterly content. Just before she entered her realm of unconsciousness, she felt a soft touch on her back.

"Sakura..." a voice whispered. Sakura hummed in response. It was probably just Ino. Sakura's eyes flew open, seeing nothing but black.

_Ino spent the night with TenTen and Hinata._

Sakura lifted her head from the black shirt she was clutching and came face to face with Gaara no Sabaku. Sakura felt panic enter her as she thought about last night. _Oh no, oh no. I didn't...we didn't...did we? _She calmed slightly when she realized all her clothes were on. She also remembered the feel of his pants and she saw his shirt. _Okay, well that's one less worry_...The red numbers on her clock drew her attention to them. 6:15. She needed to get ready for school. Her eyes traveled back to Gaara's calm face. His eyes were closed and he emanated the feeling of total relaxation. Sakura felt her eyes droop as she gently laid her head on his chest once more. _A few more minutes won't hurt..._

**_XOXOXOXOXOXOZ_**

Gaara opened his eyes, coming out of his meditation as he felt Sakura shift in his arms. He fought his urge to tense as he felt her wrap her legs around one of his own, pulling it closer to her. He slowly drew a single circle on her back. "Sakura..." he whispered. He felt more than heard her hum in response. Suddenly, he felt her stiffen and for some unknown reason, he closed his eyes, controlling his breathing as he entered the closest thing for sleep to him.

He used his other senses to feel her raise her head. Sakura unknowingly received a rare gift from Gaara as he fought his natural urge to open his eyes. His trust. Gaara was trusting Sakura to not hurt him while his eyes were closed. He was giving her the chance to see him with his walls down. He couldn't remember the last time he had allowed anyone such a chance, and the weight on his shoulders momentarily lessened as he allowed his muscles to relax and he himself took up the air of complete repose. After a few moments, he felt her lower her head back on his chest, sighing as she entered a state of unawareness once more.

Gaara jade eyes flicked open, staring down at the pink-haired girl. His eyes flashed to the clock on the nightstand. 6:17. He looked down once more, noticing just how at ease she was. _I don't mind missing school...question is, does she?_ He contemplated this but his answer was chosen for him as she pulled him even closer, exhaling into his chest. _I'll let her sleep._ He ran his fingers across her arm lightly a few times. Then he, too, closed his eyes. However, he once again neglected his body's natural plea for sleep, opting instead to keep his mind just on the verge. It wasn't as restful as sleep but it was safer. _I have to always be alert..._He thought, before simply enjoying the warmth that Sakura radiated.

**_XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ_**

TenTen's eyes immediately went to Sakura's seat as the three girls entered first. It was empty.

"Girls," she cut off Ino's response to Hinata's question. Both turned to her. "Sakura's not here." All three girls had been worried when Sakura had neglected to show up last night but they had all assumed she needed to be alone for a while. Now the familiar sign of concern entered all of their minds.

"You don't think..." Ino trailed off. Their eyes widened with the thought before they began rushing back to the apartment.

Ino froze when they arrived in the hallway, a cold shiver running down her back. Hinata stopped a few steps ahead, looking back worried at her friend. She immediately realized what was wrong and came to her friend, wrapping her arms around her.

"I-I'm sure S-Sakura's f-fine." she said quietly and Ino nodded robotically, allowing Hinata to grab her hand and slowly bring her towards the door. TenTen took her other hand, smiling reassuringly. Sakura had to be okay. When they came to the door, TenTen went to unlock it as Ino clutched Hinata's hand tightly.

"Sakura?" TenTen called, entering the open door. Hinata also tried to enter but found resistance on her arm. She looked back to see Ino completely terrified. Hinata didn't know what to do except to stay back and let TenTen search for their friend as she tried to comfort Ino.

"I-Ino, Sakura's f-fine. TenTen w-will tell us th-the same thing i-in a few minutes." she assured, hugging the blonde. Ino nodded in her shoulder, a few tears leaking out. Hinata's eyes moved to the open door, hearing TenTen's timid voice calling out the pinkette's name again. _Please Sakura, be okay. Don't do this to us again._

TenTen slowly went through the living room, staring at the hallway. _The bathroom. That where they found her last time. Sakura...please don't pull this crap again._ She slowly entered the hallway and swung the bathroom door open. It was spotless, just as clean as it had been when the cops had cleaned it. TenTen released a breath she hadn't consciously held.

"Sakura?" She called again, her eyes moving to her bedroom door. _I swear, if she just slept late I'm going to strangle her for making us worry so much._

She walked over to the door, grabbing the cold brass with her hand and slowly turning the knob. As she opened the door, her eyes were immediately drawn to the bed where she spotted a flash of red as well as pink. Gaara's eyes flashed from the pinkette over to hers, the jade orbs swimming with some emotion that she couldn't place. TenTen's breath caught in her throat. _Sakura...you...you did...with Gaara? How could...took advantage..._TenTen shook her head, trying to make sense of her thoughts. Then she started yelling her head off.

"What the heck!? I thought you were trying to help her the other day! Were you just trying to get her to trust you so you could use her!? God, you're such a _jerk!_" Sakura woke up during her rant and she jumped out of Gaara arms, falling off the bed. She groaned as her face hit the ground, her legs still entangled with the sheets. Gaara smirked, chuckling slightly at the sight while TenTen stared. _Clothes...they have on clothes. She didn't do _it_ with him. _"Oh thank you, Lord!" TenTen said, rushing to her friend and hugging her tightly.

"Ugh, TenTen? What're you doing here?" Sakura asked, confused after the rude awakening.

"Sakura, you had us all so worried." She pulled away, her eyes tearing up. She sniffled. "We didn't know where you were." Her eyes hardened. "What in the world where you thinking? And why is _he_ here?" She gestured to Gaara who was currently stretching as he stood from the bed. His gaze went to TenTen briefly when she mentioned him but he didn't comment.

"I...Sorry TenTen. I just kind of overslept." Sakura gave her friend a nervous smile. "I didn't mean to."

"Oh...Sakura!" TenTen hugged her friend again. Gaara rolled his eyes at her before grabbing his shoes and starting to lace them up. Sakura's eyes went to him from over her friends shoulder, thanking him silently. He nodded gruffly and returned to his attention to his shoes. _So she didn't tell her friends about that night..._He thought, throwing that around in his head. He supposed she might be embarrassed that she had given up her _first_ to a guy she hardly knew. He shrugged to himself. It wasn't his problem.

Gaara stood, looking from the two girls hugging on the ground to the window and then the door. _Hm..._Deciding that he'd rather not climb out the window, he sauntered through the doorway, heading to the living room. As he walked out of the dorm, he always ran right into Ino and another one of Sakura's friends. _She's the one that likes Naruto...Her name's...Hinata. _Their eyes went to his questioningly and worry-filled. He sighed.

"She's fine." He muttered before heading down the hallway, feeling their stares in his back. He smirked to nothing in particular, easily reverting back to his arrogant walk.

_For now..._He added in his thoughts, wondering what would happen once she actually _saw_ the reason for her suicidal actions. He couldn't guess. Though most reactions were derived from feelings of fear, sadness, or anger, everyone was different. So there really was no telling.

**Short, yeah. Sorry. There's really not much in this chapter but there are a few things. I want Gaara and Sakura's relationship to develop in a realistic amount of time. I also want to show that TenTen, Hinata, and Ino may not have realized it first, but now that they know something's wrong with Sakura, they are worried about her. They're not horrible friends, just a little...'out of the loop'. In many ways. Remember, Sakura's yet ot let them know about her and Gaara, let alone Sasuke. **

**Well, please let me know what you think!**

**…And a Happy New Year!!**


	14. Chapter 14

"Ow, Sakura! Gosh, it's not like we're asking you to jump out of a building; we just want you to come to class. There's no need to block off circulation in my hand." Ino said jokingly, returning the pressure. Sakura blushed, pulling her hand from Ino's grip.

"S-sorry." She whispered, massaging her hand. Ino's face fell slightly.

"Oh, no, I was just kidding, you know? You don't have to take it seriously." The blonde said nervously.

"S-sakura? What's w-wrong?" Hinata asked as they walked slowly back to class.

"Nothing, Hinata," Sakura smiled at her friend.

"No, something's bothering you." TenTen said, stopping as she turned to stare at her friend. All four of the girls halted, three staring intently at one nervous pinkette.

"I'm, uh, fine. There's n-nothing wrong," Sakura rose her head, smiling nervously. "Honestly, I'm o-kay." Ino and TenTen looked at her skeptically.

"H-Hey, guys. Why d-don't we play h-hooky today? We can watch movies all d-day and order p-pizza later?" Hinata offered. A large smile got on Ino's face.

"Oh my gosh, Hinata! That's brilliant!" The blonde yelled, hugging her friend enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I love it!" TenTen agreed, bouncing up and down excitedly.

All eyes went to Sakura, who look to the ground, shuffling her feet. _Anything to not have to see Sasuke..._She thought. "Okay. Yeah. Sure! Sounds great!" She smiled a smile that, though similar to those of her past, was incredibly false. _What if he comes looking for me? And what about Gaara?_ She looked over her shoulder in the direction of the classroom as she was drug to TenTen and Hinata's room. They gushed over how much fun they would have but Sakura's thoughts were elsewhere._ I kind of wanted to see him again, even if it meant having to deal with Sasuke. He left so quickly this morning._

_Oh well_..._There's always tomorrow._ She finally gave her friend's her attention, smiling and nodding along with their stories.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Gaara stared at the door, paying the proctor even less attention than usual. _Where is she? She should be here by now. I left her with her friends because I figured they'd take care of her, but even _they_ haven't showed up. Where _are_ they?_

Gaara's mind went to his conversation with the doctor.

_*flashback*_

_Gaara walked into the white hospital room as soon as the nurse allowed it. He edged to the bed, looking down at the pink-haired girl lying in it. _She's so fragile_, he thought, tracing a single finger from her temple and down her cheek. The sound of the door opening caused him to jump back, pulling his hand from her._

_"Hello, I'm Dr. Shinaho. I am Miss Haruno's doctor." A short elderly woman stated, smiling warmly at him. He didn't pay her any mind, instead opting to gaze at Sakura. "Your name would be?"_

_"Gaara no Sabaku." he mumbled._

_"Well, Mr. Sabaku, your friend here is very lucky. If you hadn't found her when you did, she most likely wouldn't be here."_

_He didn't say anything, though he was soaking up her every word. One question kept screaming in his mind though: _But will she be okay _now?_

_"Mr. Sabaku, Miss Haruno has given us all quite a scare. Her wounds were self-inflicted, as I'm sure you guessed..." He cringed. _Self-inflicted. She had wanted to die. All because of _Uchiha_. _"And such an act really puts worry in our hearts. I'm going to prescribe her an anti-depressant as well as put her on suicide watch. I'm afraid she won't be able to go home for a few da-"_

_"No." he said, finally looking at the Doctor. She froze, stunned._

_"But Mr. Sabaku, you cannot tell me that you honestly believe she is healthy enough to-"_

_"Sakura's perfectly fine. If you had to deal with the same stuff as she does, I doubt you'd fair as well as she has."_

_"And what situation is this, exactly? Let me remind you that if something illegal is happening, it can be solved. Is someone hurting Miss Haruno? Is she consuming illegal substances?"_

_Gaara eyes flashed to the unconscious form on the bed. Images of her begging eyes came into his view. Begging for him not to tell anyone._

_He sighed. _I can't believe I'm about to do this..._"It's...nothing like that. Boyfriend trouble, homesickness, school-stress, the works," The lies came from his mouth naturally, smoothly. He met her gaze with a half-lidded one of his own. "She's not really suicidal or anything. One of my idiotic friends dared her to try cutting herself to make her stop whining. We never thought she'd actually do it," His voice lowered at end, eyes going to her once more. "She's not suicidal; just confused and stressed. She doesn't need the added stress of a suicide watch."_

_"Look, I'm sorry, Mr. Sabaku, but you and your friends should be more careful about what you say to people. There's no way of knowing if this was an actually suicide attempt or just a dare-gone-wrong. I'm going to have to-" Gaara 's hand went up, bracing against the wall in front of her head. He lowered his head, meeting her eye-level, and his voice._

_"Look, Sakura is _not_ suicidal. Never was, never will be," _Not if I have any say in it..._he added in his thoughts. "And I don't appreciate you saying she is. What if I promise to keep an eye on her? And away from all truth-or-dare games?" The doctor stared at him for a long time, thinking._

_"I'm not sure..."_

_"Come on, haven't you ever had just some stupid college kids have a dare go bad?"_

_"I'm really not suppose to-"_

_"Just give her a warning, kay? I promise, I'll keep an eye on her."_

_The doctor sighed, looking for Sakura to Gaara. "I..._guess_. I really don't see how someone could really be suicidal with a boyfriend as great as you are." That left Gaara stunned. _Boyfriend?_ "Alright, Mr. Sabaku. If you promise to keep an eye on her and never let her out of your sight, I'll let her off with a warning, _just this time._ Don't let anymore dares go wrong. And perhaps if you showed her how much you really like her, you wouldn't be in this situation, eh?" She rose her eyebrows, smiling. _

_"Um, you got it wrong. You see-"_

_"Oh, I get it. Being in love is one of those 'un-manly' things now-a-days. Well, alright, your secret's safe with me," she winked. "Though we girls do like to hear it every now and again." Gaara started shaking his head._

_"No, it's not like that. I'm not her-"_

_"Alright, Mr. Sabaku. Take care of Miss Haruno, you understand? I don't want her in here for anything more than a heart attack for when you actually _do_ tell her how much you like her."_

_"I'm not her-" And the door closed. Gaara looked over to Sakura, sleeping. _I'm not her boyfriend..._He thought._ But if I were...we wouldn't be here._ Gaara shook these ridiculous thoughts from his brain. He started for the door, only pausing just before letting it close. His eyes rested on the girl in a peaceful sleep. _If I were..._Then the door shut with a soft click._

_*end flashback*_

_Sakura better be okay..._Gaara thought.

"Mr. Sabaku?" Gaara zoned in, realizing that the teacher had just asked him a question. He scanned the board, seeing the large math equation. Everyone stared at him as Gaara's mind thought. "Mr. Sabaku? Are you planning on answering today? The teacher asked after about two minutes.

"Seven." Gaara mumbled, entering his thoughts again as the teacher nodded and went about explaining how this was so. He rolled his eyes. Like he really needed any of this. He had been home-schooled for most of his life but they would not allow him into college until he was the age of eighteen. His father had had him doing drills like these since he was in 'sixth' grade.

Gaara's eyes went to the door again before moving slowly over to Sakura's empty seat. It was obvious that Gaara wasn't the only one nervous about Sakura's disappearance. Sasuke looked up from the door, a scowl on his face. He was constantly looking at the clock and then back at the door. The more he sat there, Gaara felt the urge to pound him in the dirt grow and grow. _All he probably cares about is not getting caught. He doesn't care about Sakura. She's a pastime for him. The b-_

A light paper object landed neatly on Gaara's desk. He looked to where it had come from and spotted a girl a few desks away, smiling flirtatiously at him. She waved slightly before blushing and looking down. He rolled his eyes inwardly before grabbing the paper and looking at the girly swirls decorating the paper.

_I'm free tonight._

Gaara sighed as the bell rang. The girl came over, sashaying her hips.

"Hi, Gaara," she purred. "What do you think about my note?"

"Can't." He stated simply, not throwing her a glance.

"But I'm _free_." She whined, annoying him. He glared at her over his shoulder.

"But _I'm_ not." He growled before leaving the room. He had to catch up with Uchiha, who had sped out of the room. He had to find Sakura first.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Sakura giggled as Ino placed popcorn in TenTen's empty seat. As TenTen sat down, they heard the snap of the kernels popping, throwing them all into rounds of idiotic laughter again.

"It's not even that _funny_." Ino cried between laughs before losing herself in the amusement once more.

"I-I k-know!" Hinata agreed, giggling uncontrollably. TenTen was standing and wiping her butt off while trying not to fall over laughing.

Sakura didn't say anything, instead just chuckling quietly to herself. Though she was having fun with the girls, she couldn't completely erase her mind of a certain redhead. _I wonder if he even went to class…_she thought, watching as Ino put another movie in the player.

Sakura couldn't concentrate. Everything was reminding her of the redhead that had mysteriously showed up last night. That had saved her. Again. The redheaded male on the TV that gave the main character her coffee was him. The jade eyes of the main character's strange, hooded stalker belonged to him. Even the flash of red amongst the sea of people in the city was him. Everything was him. She just couldn't escape him.

Then, just as the girl was about to removed her stalke's mask, Sakura stood suddenly. "I-I'll b-be right b-back!" She hurriedly said before rushing from the room. TenTen, Ino, and Hinata were too shocked to even move. One thought echoed in their minds: _Wonder what's wrong..._

"Th-think we should follow her?" Hinata asked, watching the door surely. Something didn't feel right to her. TenTen and Ino had returned their attention to the movie.

"She just needs a little alone time." TenTen said, smiling reassuringly.

"We can't expect her to be back completely to normal so quickly." Ino added. Hinata sighed and, despite the growing feeling in her chest, she turned back to the movie.

Sakura ran out the room, out the dorm, down the hall, and into the stairwell. She paused only after going down two flights of stairs. She leaned back against the cool concrete, breathing heavily with her head down. Her hands rested on her knees as her hair supplied a curtain from reality.

_Why is he affecting me so? I can't get him out of my head. He doesn't even matter. He's just some random guy that _happens_ to be the guy that I lost my virginity to. So what? He's _nothing_ to me!_

Sakura's heart rate sped up as she began to hear footsteps echoing from below. Someone was coming up the stairs.

"Sa-ku-ra?" Someone cooed in a soft voice. An evil voice. Sakura's heart stopped then. She berated herself for thinking for even a minute that it would be _him,_ the object of her thoughts. No, instead it was _him_, the object of her fears.

Sakura started for the stairs, trying to rush back up to Ino's room. It was all for nothing, however; since Sasuke's hand encircled her upper arm, bruising her.

"Awe come on, Sa-ku-ra. Why are you trying to run?" He pulled her back against him, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist as she struggled. She tried to squirm out of his grip while at the same time, kick him where it hurts. Neither worked as he pushed her against the wall, pressing against her back. She could _feel_ his smirk as he kissed her neck. Sakura shivered in fear. "How have you been, Sa-ku-ra?" He knew. He had to know that he was the reason for all of this. He liked it. He must; why else would he continue to terrorize her so? His hand started drawing small circles on her stomach. Then, it slipped under her shirt, moving slowly northward.

"S-S-Sasuke..." Sakura managed out, shaking. Sasuke chuckled in her ear.

"Don't worry, S-a-ku-ra. I'll make sure there's nothing left of you for _Sabaku_ to save this time." He whispered darkly into her neck. Sakura's breath caught in her throat as Sasuke ground his hips against her butt. Her eyes clenched shut.

And then he was gone. The weight pushing on her back just disappeared. Sakura's eyes remained closed, waiting for him to return and laugh at her for falling for the false hope he was planting.

Instead, she heard a loud crack, followed by curses of all sort.

Sakura opened her eyes and turned around slowly, easily recognizing the flash of red that was standing in front of her, his back to her. Sasuke was pulling himself up off the ground, glaring murderously at both of them.

"_Sabaku, _what a _pleasure _it is to see you. Here to watch?" Gaara growled and lunged at him, slamming him against the wall. Sasuke grabbed Gaara's leg, knocking him down. His head hit the floor with a loud crack and Sakura cringed. Gaara seemed unaffected though as his fist connected with Sasuke's smirking face. They rolled across the small landing until Gaara's upper half was leaning precariously over the stairs leading downward, Sasuke on his stomach and punching at his face. Gaara grabbed Sasuke's hands and pulled, forcing Sasuke to go flying over Gaara and onto the lower stairs. Sasuke recovered before Gaara could regain his footing however, and ran at Gaara, forcing him into a wall. Gaara's breath whooshed out of him as Sasuke's hand encircled his throat. One of Gaara's hands grabbed his arm while his foot kicked him cleanly in the stomach. Sasuke went down, gasping for air. Gaara kicked him again, his boot hitting Sasuke jaw. Sasuke flew backward onto his hands, entering a sort of backwards handstand as he sent his feet towards Gaara's chest. Both connected, slamming Gaara into the wall once more as Sasuke flipped. As Gaara prepared for another retaliation, Sasuke did something low.

He went for Sakura.

Gaara froze as Sasuke grabbed the pinkette by her neck, similar to how he had held the redhead moments before. The only sound was the two boys' hard breathing and the pinkette's gasps for air.

Sasuke smirked.

"Well, _Sabaku_, as fun as this has been, I'm afraid it's going to have to end." His grip tightened as Sakura thrashed about. Gaara's hands fell to his side, backing off; his eyes never leaving Sasuke's twisted gaze.

"You're going to kill her." He said. Sasuke ignored him, instead laughing insanely as Sakura clutched helplessly at his arm.

"You act as if that should make me let her go," He taunted. Gaara growled, furious. Not only at Sasuke for doing this, but at himself for leaving her open, for not being able to do anything. "I mean, it wouldn't take much to make this look like a suicide, and she's already under suspicion for that. Perhaps she hung a rope around her neck and jumped over the railing. What do you thin-"

Sakura's foot hit Sasuke right between the legs. His eyes bulged as he released her. She fell, gasping and trembling uncontrollably. Gaara was in action fast; straddling the moaning Sasuke and pummeling his face repeatedly. Sasuke fought and wiggled but couldn't get out from under the enraged redhead.

Gaara's fist never stopped or even slowed. Not until the resistance he felt from the boy became nonexistent. He stopped for a minute, his eyes wild and breathing ragged as he glared at him. Sasuke didn't move.

"I-is h-he d-dead?" a quiet voice asked, bringing Gaara back to the present.

"Not yet." Gaara growled out, eyes lighting up with deep hatred as he grabbed Sasuke's shoulders, lifted his head, and then slammed him back down against the concrete, creating a sickening cracking sound that echoed in the stairwell.

Sakura shivered as his words' true meaning came to her. Forcing herself to stand on wobbly legs, she went over to them, grabbing Gaara's shoulder to stop him from repeating the action as well as to keep herself from falling.

"G-G-Gaara...D-Don't." she said, falling to her knees. Gaara growled.

"He deserves to die." he spat out, not looking at her. She tried again, just barely mangaging to raise her hand to his cheek. He grudgingly gave her his gaze.

"D-Don't." she stuttered out again. Her hand began to fall from his face but he grabbed it in his own, keeping it there. His eyes closed as he turned his face to her wrist, taking a deep breath to help calm his want for the raven-haired boy's blood.

"Why?" he whispered, not opening his eyes.

_Because they'll get you for murder. Because you'll go away. Because I can't possibly make it through an hour without thinking about you, let alone not _seeing_ you for however long. Because I'd be dead without you. Because you're the only person in my life that understands me anymore. Because...Because I..._Sakura's lips just wouldn't work right. Instead of stuttering out everything she wanted to say, she simply leaned forward, pressing her mouth softly on his. He was shocked at first but then returned the slight pressure. After a moment, he pulled away, watching her with his jade pools.

Then, he slowly got off of Sasuke.

He stood up and offered his hand, pulling her up into his arms when she placed her hand in his. His lips softly brushed her neck as his arms supported her weight completely, keeping her up. Sakura felt her eyes close as she leaned heavily on him, her head lying softly on his chest.

"Thank you..." she whispered, just before losing consciousness.

**Well, it's longer than usual. I'm trying! What do you think? **

**Alright, originally, I was going to save this update until Jan. 19, which, according to the Naruto cards I collected with I was obsessed, is Gaara's brithday. I was going to do a birthday thing for him and everything, involving Temari and Kankuro of course since Gaara would never tell anyone that it was his birthday. However, I figured you'd guys deserved an update now and it's not like they _have_ to celebrate Gaara's birthday. Maybe I'll mention it in the future...Anywho, that's my rambling and it's also why you got an update now instead of later.**

**P.S. I just started Dual Enrollment. Though this may seem unimportant to you, let me explain. I have to read a hard textbook, therefore taking up my time. Time I could spend on writing. Meaning, updates may be slower than usual, depending on the amount of freetime I'm given. So, soak up the updates!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry SORRY _SORRY_! (Is it just me, or do I say that alot?). Like I said, things are super duper uper tuper gooper luper mooper busy right now. **

**Hope this makes it worth the wait!**

Sakura woke up in an unfamiliar room. She sprung upright, taking her surroundings. Her eyes went all over the place, trying to pinpoint where she was.

She was on a bed in the middle of the room, a plain black comforter covering her still-clothed body. Her shoes and socks had been taken off and placed by the door. There was a TV mounted on the wall in front of her with a shirt hanging from the corner. Clothes and paper littered the room. A clock on the nightstand beside her read 8:15.

She yawned, sliding her feet to the floor and standing. _Where am I?_ She couldn't find any clue as to who the room belonged to. Memories pounded into her head, reminded her of what had happened. A small cry left her lips as she fell to her knees, holding her head in her hands.

Someone grabbed her arm then, making her scream as she tried to pull away without opening her eyes.

"Sakura..." A deep voice said. Sakura immediately stopped fighting, recognizing the voice. She fell into Gaara's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Gaara!" she cried, clutching at his shirt. He sighed, picking her up and carrying her with him through the doorway. He sat down with her in his lap, making soft circles on her back. She calmed down after a while, hiccupping as she tried to control her breathing. She looked up, wiping her eyes and meeting Gaara's gaze. "Thank you." she whispered. He nodded, wiping a tear that she had missed. She tried to smile only it came out as a grimace.

"Come on." he said, standing up and putting her on her feet. She wobbled for a moment before gaining her balance. She looked up at him when he let her go and went towards another room. She followed, throwing nervous looks around the room. She came into a plain looking kitchen, taking a deep breath. A soft smile crossed her lips. _Food..._

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Gaara watched as Sakura devoured another pancake. He smirked, sitting back and scanning the room. His thoughts had been flying lately from one subject or another as he tried to not think about _that_ incident. The one that had led to the pinkette being in his dorm right now. The one that would make him go hunt down _Uchiha..._

"Sakura..." He started once she had finished, leaning back far in the chair. Her eyes went to his and an over-whelming sadness washed over him. His eyes trailed downward, tracing the patterns on the table._ This is definitely...not going as planned._

A soft touch brought him back to reality and he stared blankly at the pale hand on his arm before realization overcame him and he met Sakura's questioning gaze.

"Yes?" She whispered, still somehow able to speak normally. Gaara felt his throat constrict, blocking off all the words that wished to tumble out of his mouth and let Sakura devour as she had the pancakes. Gaara looked away again.

"I...I called Ino but didn't tell her what happened. Just that you were with me. She's with TenTen and Hinata." He mumbled quietly, emotionlessly. Sakura jumped back as if she had been slapped but he couldn't guess why.

"Yeah...she's staying with them indefinitely..." She said almost as if in a dream. She was obviously lost in her thoughts as she stared at Gaara, eyes roving his every feature. _Did I imagine it? I thought that maybe he..._Sakura closed her eyes, feeling idiotic for believing such a thing. _He'd never..._She forced a smile, returning her gaze to his. "Okay...Thank you," She stood, wiping crumbs off of her clothes. As he stood too, Sakura found herself almost touching Gaara as he looked down at her smaller form. _She's so close...If she doesn't get away from me soon, I'll never give her another chance to..._He thought. _If only..._Sakura brushed off the thought, looking into Gaara eyes seriously. "For _everything_." She finished and he nodded, understanding that she didn't just mean the breakfast.

They stood there for a moment, neither aware that they had both halted their breaths.

"I should go..." Sakura whispered, no making any move to break the connection they had, though they still had yet to touch.

"Hn..." was his response as he watched her mouth form those words. _What I'd give to taste those lips again..._Gaara's hand trembled as he raised it slightly, gaining Sakura's attention. He froze, wishing her pink hair didn't block his view of her expressive eyes. _What's on her mind..._

"Goodbye...Gaara." She whispered before running from the room. He stared at the door, the fog trying to lift from his brain. _What...just...happened?_

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

"Gaara!" Temari yelled, rushing to her brother. Kankuro jumped from behind him, wrapping an arm around his neck and mussing his hair. Gaara growled, throwing Kankuro to the ground and wrestling with him while Temari rolled her eyes. "Guys, cut it out; this is of utter importance!" She yelled, grabbed Gaara's arm as he swung back to deliver another punch to Kankuro's gut. Gaara glared at her while standing, brushing dirt from his shirt.

"What?" The redhead asked, smirking as Kankuro stood and winced.

"We're taking you out for super tonight, little bro!" Kankuro said, grinning like the utter fool he was. Gaara's smirk immediately disappeared as he turned, walking away.

"No."

"Awe, but Gaara," Temari said, rushing to catch up with his fast stride. "It's a tradition. We always go out on your birthday."

"And I always hate it," He clarified. She pouted, stopping in front of him and turning the puppy-dog eyes on him. "_No!_" he snarled, brushing passed her.

"Come on, bro. Can't break tradition!" Kankuro added, throwing an arm casually over Temari's shoulder to keep her from _really_ crying.

"No." He repeated, growing annoyed with them.

Kankuro suddenly went into action, grabbing Gaara's shirt and pulling him up closer to his height. "I'm your older brother. You're going."

Gaara just silently glared at him.

"Come on, Gaara. For your sister?" Temari added, thinking surly he'd say no again.

Gaara slapped Kankuro's hand from him. "Fine." He muttered, turning to the parking lot. Temari and Kankuro looked at him shocked. _He...He agreed..._

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Gaara would never understand why he had agreed to this.

"Isn't this great, Gaara? It's the only time we can actually be together, what with my intense studies, Kankuro's drama club practices, and your..." Temari faded off, staring at her food dejectedly. Gaara sighed as Kankuro's face gained its usual 'I'm-getting-angry' look.

"Why you got to say it like that?!"

"Say what like how?" Temari asked, confused.

"'_Drama club practices'..._You make me sound like a wuss!"

"Well...that's what they are...isn't it?"

"_No!_ They are promoters in the performing arts."

"They are _what?!_"

"Promoters!"

"You're a drama queen, not a nerd! And by the way, that was _so_ not the correct usage of that word." By this time, everyone was staring at the two, including a certain redhead who was contemplating their murders...

"I am _not_ a drama _king;_ I am a puppeteer!"

"Drama _Queen!_"

"_King!_"

"Fine; Drama _King!_"

"Wait, I'm not a-" Gaara stood, ignoring the rest of their argument in a similar way that they ignored his standing. He placed a bill on the table, covering the food as he walked out, hands shoved in his pockets.

The hairs on Gaara's neck rose as an unearthly feel came to him. He walked stealthily down the dark streets, heading back towards the campus. Stupid Kankuro, talking them all into taking his car. Stupid Temari for making him go on this stupid thing. Gaara growled to himself, grabbing his hood and throwing it over his red-hair. His eyes scanned the road in front of him before casting a casual glance behind him.

The street was total barren.

Gaara lowered his head, slouching. Something didn't feel right…not right at all.

As Gaara pasted another alleyway, something caught his eye and he froze, looking intently into the dark passageway. In the far back, he saw a flash of gold and he froze. _No…he…he can't be back…_He thought before starting to run down the street. Memories pounded in his head as he ran, displaying the maniacal laughs and satanic smirks from not too long ago. _He_ was back. The one that had cause all of this. _He was supposed to get twenty-five to life after that last murder…how is he out so soon? _It didn't make sense but Gaara knew he had to get out of there. He had to get somewhere where _he_ couldn't find him.

_But I can't go back to my dorm…he'll know where it is. He's probably tracking me now…_He thought, eyes glancing side to side as he rushed through the night. He spotted the gate ahead and quickly burst through; pausing only once he was sure he was safe…for now.

"Gaara?" A small voice asked. His gaze rose, landing on some girl. He didn't give her answer, instead watching as a shadow covered her form. His eyes hardened, knowing what was coming. "Gaara! Hey!" She yelled, rushing over to meet him. "Did you, like, just go for a run? That's so awesome! Do you do it, like, everyday? Like, a training program?"

"Leave." He stated, feeling his presence as he neared. She just kept talking, grinning and flirting like a fool.

"I bet you're, like, unstoppable. I mean, we already know you're, like, totally super strong. And you're also, like, the most hottest guy ever, so of course you're, like, totally buff too. It just wouldn't fit if you _weren't_ totally-" He watched with only a slight disgust as a rock hit her in the temple, effectively knocking her out with one hit. Blood began to come from the wound, which Gaara ignored, instead turning his attention to his company.

_He_ offered a large, sadistic smile, gold eyes glowing with mischief. His sandy colored hair with black tips was most unusual and gained him many strange looks, when someone was around to give them. Gaara simply stared at him passively, having spent enough time in his life with this delinquent to not be amazed by his oddness.

"Hey, Runt! Been a while, eh? Longer than I expected, I'll admit, but they straightened it all out. Turns out the whore killed herself after all. Told 'em I didn't do it…" He said, his unique accent shining through. Gaara's narrowed gaze didn't change.

"Shukaku…"

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Sakura was feeling worse and worse. The razor ran smoothly over her legs as Sakura fought the urge to simply bare down and finish off what she'd tried multiple times. _Maybe I should get some proper razors for this kind of thing..._She thought before shaking it. _The last thing I need is Ino finding them, even though she's technically gone until further notice. _She sighed, turning the water until it was at a blistering tempterature. _I need to _feel_ something...anything...please_...She begged to the heavens before shutting the water off. She wrapped a towel around her pink body and went into her room, throwing on some clothes.

She laid down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. _I wonder if he'd be on the roof..._She shook her head, fingers tracing the scars on her thighs. Her fingers ran over the bruises around her neck like ghosts with her wincing as the slightest of pressure was given.

Sakura traced the pattern on the ceiling with her eyes, feeling the strain of the day crushing down on her. The pale yellow color of her roof couldn't help but make her create similarities...

_Just like the ceiling, who was once white, I too have become dirty. But, I can't be repainted. I can't be cleaned. No matter how hard I scrub, how hard I try, I cannot become the girl I once was. I'm dirty, filthy, and no longer worth an ounce of the trouble people go through to try and help me. _Sakura's arms wrapped around herself, hugging herself as she clenched her teeth. _I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry. _Slowly, a tear leeked from her closed eyes and then the waterworks began. She curled into a ball, lying on her side as she clutched at her chest. _Why...Why me? What have I done? Who have I hurt? _She grabbed her pillow, crushing it in a hug as she bured her head in the plush cotton. Her body trembled as sobs racked through her body.

_Why me..._

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Gaara watched the golden boy as he moved about his dorm, observing the atmosphere and commenting on a few things.

"Ah, not very attached ta this place, are ya? Barely got any stuff ta ya'self 'ere," He turned his crazy eyes on Gaara, grinning at him. Gaara ignored him, insteading paying attention to his hand which had skimmed across his dresser, landing over a knife. Gaara's eyes narrowed slightly. "Agh, don't worry ya'self," Shukaku said, moving his hand. Gaara's eyes met his oddly colored gold ones. "I ain't 'ere ta kill ya. I'm 'ere ta help ya."

"Hn." Gaara muttered. His version of help usually ended with someone dead and someone else in prison.

"But, I also need ya help."

"With what?" Gaara asked, knowing he was about to be forced to do something that would probably mark his record...again.

"Ya see, I got a lil' tidbit that ol' Yashamaru and Yondaime is 'round this ol' town. Figured we could give 'em a little welcome party, eh?"

Gaara just stared at him. The _last_ thing he wanted to do was hunt down the people who wanted him dead.

Shukaku grinned, knowing Gaara's thoughts as if he'd heard them. "I figure a lil' of cold steel in their system will make 'em think twice 'bout messin' with ya again. Ya like?"

"I don't need trouble here too." Gaara argued, eyes trailing down to Shukaku's hand, which was currently moving back and forth against the knife. _Why did I leave that there?_

"So you'll have ta move again. So what? I move all the time, ain't no problem with it," Then his grinned got wider as he watched Gaara for any of the small signs of a reaction. "Unless of course, you got ya'self a reason to stick around this 'ere place..."

A vision of pink entered Gaara mind. Then, a picture of that same pinkette running from his dorm only this morning. He growled. "No."

"That's ma boy! So come on, let's get this show on the road! Man, them boys gonna wish they hadn't _ever_ messed with Shukaku and Gaara no Sabaku!"

**Okay, again sorry. I realize it's not that long but I seriously am trying to lengthen my chapters. Please be patient with me on that area. **

**Been awhile, eh?**

**Okay, okay, I just _had_ to have Shukaku in here. For some odd reason, I really like him. He's just...coolio man! :D And I wanted to make it alittle original and I haven't read any fanfics that have Shukaku as an outside force on Gaara's life sooo...course that doesn't mean there isn't...not like I look for these things...anywho, what cha think?**


	16. Chapter 16

Sakura kept her head down as she walked down the hallway. She couldn't remember the last time she had gone to class and she was determined not to fail this semester.

Sakura pulled at her shirt nervously, letting her hair fall into her eyes. Her head was pounding from when she had cried earlier.

As she opened the door, a loud siren broke into her thoughts. Her head shot up, taking in the ambulance that was outside of another dorm. Sakura froze; her breathing beginning to become more labored. _Is someone hurt? Who is it? What happened?_ She cautiously headed to the group, tapping a small girl on the shoulder.

"What happened?" The pinkette asked quietly, eyes searching the scene in front of her.

"We don't know," The girl replied. "All we do know is who's hurt." Sakura turned to her, asking her to continue with her eyes. "It's Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura's breath caught. _What? Who- How- Wh- Huh? _

Sakura nodded her thanks before quickly running, dashing behind a building and leaning heavily against its surface. She inhaled deeply before falling to the ground, trying to hold the tears in. _Dang it! I'm not supposed to act like this! So what if someone hurt him? He's hurt me a lot of times! Still, I'm worthless and dirty...I probably deserved what I got, in some sick way...No Sakura! Don't think like that! I did _not_ deserve what he did to me and hope that someone got him good!_ Sakura's head ached at the conflicting thoughts.

"S-Sakura?" The girl's head flashed up, meeting Hinata's shy gaze. "Are you o-okay?" Sakura slowly shook her head, a tear leaking from her eye. Hinata sat down beside her friend, her arms wrapping around her in a small hug. "It's okay S-Sakura, I'm sure h-he's alright." Sakura stiffened. Hinata had miss-took the tears in Sakura's eyes to be for Sasuke, not herself. Sakura simply shook her head.

"It's not him I'm worried about Hinata...Not him..." Hinata leaned back to say something else but she caught something in her friend's eyes. As she got the feeling that her friend would say no more, Hinata just continued to hug her, letting Sakura know she was there whenever she needed her. "Thank you, Hinata." Hinata smiled, standing up and offering Sakura a hand. She took it, barely managing to uplift the corner of her mouth. It was a small smile, but it would have to do.

"This is wh-what friends are f-for," Hinata mumbled. "L-Let's get to c-class."

Sakura nodded and together, they walked into first. They departed when Hinata came to her seat. She offered Sakura one last smile before looking forward. Sakura saw TenTen, who waved enthusiastically, but Ino was no where to be seen. _Where is she?_ She thought, her eyes settling on another empty seat. Sakura froze, staring at the hard plastic where he should have been. _Where's...Gaara?_

"Attention!" Everyone halted their conversations. It wasn't common for their teacher to yell. "I realize it is halfway through the semester, but we have a new student who feels confident in his abilities to make up the lost time and then some. So, I'd like you all to meet, Sai!"

Sakura's eyes bulged as this was said, her heartbeat becoming erratic. Her breath sped up as the door opened to reveal a pale man, dressed in all black. His dark eyes scanned the room before landing on her pink hair. His seemingly emotionless mask did not reveal what he was thinking as he stared into Sakura's green eyes. Sakura felt she couldn't breathe, looking from one thing to another as she tried to ignore the gaze that had stared at her for hours and hours while they had been dating. _He sure knows how to pick schools..._She thought, feeling more than one gaze on her. She looked up to see TenTen and Hinata staring at her, worried. Ino was standing at the door now, also giving Sakura an anxious look.

"Find an empty seat, Sai," The proctor said. "And you should take your seat as well, Miss Yamanaka." Ino squeaked before sitting in her seat, eyes watching Sai as he moved throughout the room and up the stairs. He took a seat on the end, two rows ahead of Sakura, who looked as if she was having a panic attack.

Sakura jumped as someone touched her arm. She looked over to see that it was her neighbor. The boy smiled softly before whispering, "Are you okay?" She nodded before shaking her head. He looked at her confused but Sakura had already jumped out of her seat, dashing from the room. The teacher sighed.

"Does anyone else want to run from the room? Miss Yamanaka?" Ino blushed. "Miss Hyuuga?" Hinata looked down, twiddling her fingering. "Miss TenTen?" TenTen looked away. "And since Mr. Sabaku isn't here, then I don't expect anymore of you to leave your seats," He continued. "You'll never pass your exams this way, always running from your classes. That is what is wrong with this generation, no discipline," The teacher sighed. "Now, if there will be no more interruptions, let us continue..."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Sakura's fingers shook as she washed her face in the cool water. She pressed her damp forehead against the cool mirror, closing her eyes. _This is too much. First, Sasuke tries to kill me. Then someone tries to kill _him_. Now Sai? What's next? What more could a person possible go through in two days? Next thing you know, a homicidal maniac is going to end up sitting next to me during lunch break and we'll talk about...unicorns! _Sakura sighed, inhaling and exhaling. _Okay Sakura, you can do this. He's just another guy. You have no obligation to even talk to him. None what-so-ever. Just ignore him and get through this day._

She jumped as a bell echoed down the hall. _Lunchtime...now, to go meet that homicidal maniac..._

Sakura walked from the bathroom, mixing in with the students now filing out to go eat somewhere. They closed in on her, making her feel claustrophobic. Her eyes flashed around as she tried to stay away from everyone. She jumped when a hand brushed her own, shrieked for a second when an arm accidentally grabbed her shoulder. She was feeling tense and even the slightest contact was an electric shock.

As the crowd opened up, she burst from the crowd, taking off into the solitude of the shadows, only...one of those shadows belonged to another being.

Golden eyes. That was the first thing Sakura registered as she stared at this boy. Next was his sandy-colored hair, the tips dipped in black ink. Then the black attire and black rings around his eyes, vaguely reminding her of someone...

She was completely still, meeting his wild gaze with her terrified one. She felt like a cornered animal when she wasn't even the one backed up against a wall. She had lots of room. All she had to do was back away. To leave.

Only, she didn't leave. Instead, after a few minutes, the boy smirked, flicking the cigarette butt on the ground. _Funny, I hadn't even notice him smoking..._She thought, watching him cautiously as he took a step towards her.

"Hi ya," He said, his accent completely baffling Sakura. _I've never heard that voice around here...but still, there's something oddly familiar about this guy..._"Name's Shukaku...Ya got one, girly?"

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Hot water poured down Gaara's back as his head hung low, washing the blood from earlier this morning away.

_Uchiha..._

With Shukaku, he had broken into the boy's dorm, making his point very clear as to what would happen should he ever force himself on Sakura again. He sighed, remembering the lies he'd had to force across his tongue to get Shukaku to help him. He'd never let that monster know about Sakura...about what she meant to him. _He_ didn't even know what she meant to him. If he ever even mentioned her name to him, he'd be interested, wondering how a girl could capture Gaara's attention.

Gaara's fist pounded against the tile wall. _No! Sakura must _never_ meet Shukaku. Shukaku has to leave as soon as possible..._He shut the water off, grabbing a towel and wrapping the cloth around his waist. His eyes landed on the still-busted mirror, the middle completely gone while shards remained in the sink and on the floor. He stepped over them, walking to his room. Pulling his clothes on, his hand froze as his shirt came over his head. A finger traced the scar there idly. _Love..._He growled, scratching his nails across the wretched patch of skin.

As he walked into the living room, he noticed one thing immediately._ Shukaku...where is he?_

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Shukaku grinned at nothing, strolling down the sidewalk casually. His golden eyes caught everything, from the bug, squashed beneath a man's red sneaker, to the baby crying annoyingly loud. He gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to strangle the thing.

He growled lowly, smirking sadistically. _Sakura..._He had watched the girl, catching her pink hair easily as she ran from the crowd. _She's is unique alright. I wonder how far I could push ol' Gaara, using her as a tool._ He chuckled to himself, eyes flashing dangerously at the prospect of continuing his torture of the boy. He'd been in town for a week, watching Gaara as he interacted with the pinkette. _Something_ was going on between them. _And this time, the pain won't just be physical. I'll get to him on an emotional level. I hear that works the best as a psychological torture device..._An image of a broken pinkette entering his mind, making him snicker. _Besides...the Runt owes me after I bought his lies yesterday and helped him just about castrate that Uchiha kid..._

_*flashback*_

_Shukaku held the struggling Sasuke easily, one arm pinning his while the other wrapped around his neck, covering his mouth and keeping him from yelling. _

_Gaara glared at Sasuke, flicking the knife open and shut. Shukaku laughed maniacally, enjoying the torture of the living being. He had already decided that he couldn't stand this arrogant kid and opted to knee him in the groin for fun. Sasuke groaned, arching his back away from his captor. Gaara simply watched, letting Shukaku pound on the boy, knowing he didn't have a chance. An image of Sakura entered his mind, begging him not to kill Sasuke. He grasped Shukaku's shirt, pulling him from Sasuke when he threatened to kill him. He glared at the redhead dangerously while Sasuke's eyes flashed fearfully to Gaara, then Shukaku, and then the door. Gaara's foot entered his view, effectively blocking all exits._

_"Wh-what do you want!?" Sasuke yelled, putting on a front of bravery. Gaara chuckled darkly, running the blade down his neck, leaving a trail of blood. Sasuke shuddered._

_"We're here to remind you..." Gaara whispered..._

_The night's air filled with screams of terror and gleeful laughs..._

**_XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ_**

_As they left, Shukaku grinned at Gaara, throwing his arm casually over the other's shoulders. "So, Runt, want to tell me why we had such good fun with that guy?" He'd been in the dark the whole time, simply joining in because he had heard there would be blood._

_"He's annoying..." Gaara answered, shrugging the arm from his shoulders. Shukaku's eyed him._

_"Annoyin', eh? Then why didn't we just kill 'em?"_

_"Would've gone to jail..." Gaara muttered, pushing the image of a crying Sakura from his brain._

_"Like we don't know how ta make somethin' like that look like a suicide..." Shukaku smirked, proud of this fact. Gaara felt disgusted at knowing that it was true._

_"I don't take unnecessary risks."_

_"Bull you don't! Now tell me, why didn't we just kill the boy? Why go through the trouble of holding back?" _

_"Because if he's dead, he'll never learn a lesson." Gaara muttered, closing the door to his room. Shukaku studied the door silently, knowing that there was another reason. Gaara had never been one to hold back before. Something--or some_one--_was influencing the redhead. _

_And he would figure out who, why, how, and to what extent...soon..._

_*end flashback*_

Shukaku grinned at the memory, licking his lips. _I need blood._ He thought, taking a detour. He walked casually through the courtyard, spotting a group of three girls. Smirking, he lured one into the depths of the shadows. When he stepped out of its clutches, the girl did not.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

A siren woke up all of the campus, including a certain pinkette. Sakura flung the covers off of her, breathing heavily. _Only a dream...Sasuke's not here...Only a dream..._Her eyes went to her window and she stood, opening it and leaning out, watching the scene below.

Medics were scattered across the ground while students circled one of the buildings. Police officers were holding the questioning kids back, throwing uneasy looks over their shoulders. Just as Sakura was about to go down there, something caught her eye. Two people were walking from behind one of the buildings, carrying a stretcher with a black body bag. The siren was turned off as the need for speed was over. They were too late.

_That could have been me..._Sakura thought, watching them begin to place the body in the ambulance. They would take it to the morgue until further notice. _What happened?_ Sakura's interest was pique as students were told to leave. She spotted Ino among the tide of twenty-something-year-olds. _She'll give me the update later..._She thought, moving from the window. _But still...what happened? And what's with all the recent emergencies..._

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Gaara glared at the boy as he walked in, grinning satanically.

"'Ello, Runt," He said, flopping down onto the couch. Gaara didn't say anything, simply watching the ignorant male. "What's gotcha so uptight?" Shukaku drawled, sending Gaara a smirk. Gaara growled, slamming the door shut.

"You _know_ what I'm ticked about. Why'd you go and kill that girl?"

Shukaku rolled his eyes. "Oh, you mean that slut. They'll never figure out who did it, why ya in such a fussy mood?"

"Because, if they catch you, I'll have to go to jail too for housing a murderer." The redhead ground out, hoping he wouldn't catch on to where his real thoughts were leading. An image of Sakura staring at him in fear entering his gaze. The imaginary Sakura took off, running from him. _Sakura..._

"Egh, they ain't gonna catch meh. I got too many skills..."

"You're too arrogant." Gaara mumbled, crashing into a chair. His hardly expressed emotions couldn't take the strain that he was placing on them. Sakura certainly was having a major effect on him...

Shukaku was uncharacteristically silent. Gaara moved his hand from his face, peeking to make sure that the golden boy was still present. Shukaku was studying him, his usual grin gone.

"What's up?" He asked quietly, catching Gaara's gaze. Gaara ignored him, covering his eyes once more. He leaned back, wishing for a time when his life wasn't so compli- wait. It had _always_ been complicated. "Gaara," Gaara tuned back in, knowing it was important if Shukaku was calling him by his name. "Did you know...that there's a chick 'ere with pink hair?"

Gaara stiffened, eyes widening just slightly. Shukaku leaned back, smirking as he looked at the ceiling. _He knows..._Gaara thought, h_e knows. Sakura...run! Oh God, He. Knows._

"Yeah, pretty interestin' thing, if ya ask me. Ain't never seen anyone with that color 'fore. Interesting...don't cha thank?" Gaara tried his best to wipe any emotion from his face. _He must _not_ take an interest in her. Dang it Sakura, why can't you die your hair black! _"I'm thinkin' 'bout asking her out ta a movie 'er somethin'..." He grinned, eyes flashing brighter as he returned his gaze back to Gaara. "You wouldn't happen ta be able ta help a fella out...eh?"

Gaara blinked. And then blinked again. He...He wanted him...to..._help_ him? With what? Shukaku shrugged.

"Whateva, man," He flashed Gaara a knowing smile. "Just figured you'd want inta the blood pact...you have as much of a taste for it as I do..."

Gaara's hand somehow found it's way around Shukaku's neck, his eyes livid. "_Don't touch her!_" He hissed out, slowly squeezing Shukaku's throat. The boy just laughed, easily swatting away Gaara's hand as if he had no more strength than a babe. Then, the tables were turned as Shukaku punched Gaara in the stomach with all his force. Gaara bent over, gasping for breath. Shukaku kneed him in the face, causing a stream of blood to pour from Gaara's nose. Gaara glared at him as he leaned over, smirking.

"'Member who's in charge 'ere, Sabaku." Gaara growled, pummeling into him and crashing them both to the ground. Shukaku chuckled, flipping them and effectively holding the furious Gaara down. Shukaku lowered his head to the temperamental boy's ear. "Now I'm _really_ interested..." Gaara snarled crazily, jerking from underneath Shukaku. Shukaku just looked at him, amused by his useless struggling. "You ain't gettin' up 'til I want ya ta, you already know that," He stated. Then he smirked. "I'm just waiting for ya ta calm down a bit..." Gaara growled, refusing to allow this boy to get the better of him.

Gaara bucked Shukaku off of him, immediately jumping to his feet and bringing the other boy down again. There was a loud crash as they collided with a table, knocking a glass lamp down. Shukaku grabbed the cord, smoothly wrapping the cord around Gaara's neck and pulling it tight from behind the boy. Gaara stilled, hatred burning in his eyes as he glared at the chuckling delinquent.

"Ya need ta practice. Ain't ever gonna beat me that way..." Shukaku mocked. He pulled tighter and Gaara's vision started getting fuzzy. "'Course, you just ain't ever gonna beat me. You should accept that as a fact," Shukaku released Gaara, who collapsed on his hands and knees, head hung low. Shukaku patted him on the head like he was a dog, causing Gaara to lift his head up and expose his eyes to the him. Shukaku just laughed at his fierce expression. "As fun as this 'as been, I need ta get some shut eye. So get outta 'ere." He said, moving towards the couch. He looked over his shoulder as Gaara arose, smirking as Gaara gave an almost imperceptible wince.

Shukaku had won this round.

Gaara entered his room, feeling the full sting to his pride. He landed on his bed, aware of every scream coming from his body. He closed his eyes in exhaustion before opening them again. They landed on his window. _I could use some air..._He thought, grabbing a pack of smokes and climbing up onto the tar-covered roof. He lit up, taking a deep drag before exhaling. Smoke filtered through his lips as he sighed. He closed his eyes once more, leaning back. He looked up at the sky. An image of his pinkette entered his mind. When he'd first met her...

_*flashback*_

_"I'm Sakura," She said to him for no real reason. Her hand rose, a gesture that implied he should do the same. Instead, memories pounded in his head of times before. Times when even such a simple gesture turned deadly. He stared at her hand and then back into her eyes. _Ha! She must be being paid for this. That's the only way...no one _really _wants to be around me...let alone touch me. _Annoyance flashed through her eyes. "You're supposed to shake my hand, say nice to meet you, and then give me your name in return."_

_"But what if I don't think it's nice to meet you?" Lie...She was actually very...mystifying. _

_"Ugh! Would you just shake my hand and give me your name!?"_

_"Why? I didn't ask for your name. Shouldn't the giving of a name be at one's own liberty?" A precaution...one he _had_ to take._

_"Then shake my hand!"_

_"What if you put a poison on your hand and you're trying to kill me?" It wouldn't surprise him. They had to be running out of ways to try and kill him..._

_"Are you freaking kidding me?!" He simply stared at her, trying to decide if this was all a charade. Her hand fell to her side. "Why would I try to kill you?" she asked quietly. "I don't even know you."_

_"Like that matters." He had said, turning away from her. She was just too confusing. _

_"Why'd you get that tattoo there?" She asked, taking an unconscious step closer to him to study it better. He wondered if she'd done that on purpose or wasn't aware of her actions._

_"I didn't choose that tattoo and I didn't choose the spot." He spat out, wishing she'd leave. She was interesting, but not nearly as much as she was annoying. Why was he even answering her questions anyway?_

_"Oh. So, you don't want to tell me your name, you don't want to tell me about your tattoo, anything you do want to talk about?"_

_"Why are you even talking to me?!" He hissed, trying his best to scare her away. She simply shrugged, not giving him the reaction he so craved. Fear...That was what was familiar to him. Fear and anger and hatred._

_"I don't know. You're different." _

_"I think everyone can tell that. I haven't seen another person with red hair yet." He muttered bitterly. His stupid hair, always keeping him from remaining inconspicuous..._

_"I meant on the inside."_

_"Trust me, you don't want to know how I'm different on the _inside_." He muttered._

_"But I do." _

_"Why!?" Another hiss. His eyes flashed with annoyance, searching her eyes for any display of an act. Anything that would prove that she was simply pretending._

_He found nothing but sincerity._

_"I…I-I don't know." She said, looking down. That was all he needed._

_He grasped her chin roughly, pressing his lips to hers hard, most surely bruising their pink surface. _

_"Tell me to stop." He whispered in her ear gruffly. Warning her. "Tell me to stop now and I might let you leave. Say it. Now!"_

_"Stop," she mumbled, disorientated. "Don't stop."_

_"Which is it?" He clenched his teeth. _

_"Don't. Stop."_

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

_"Um…Red?" Her breath fanned across his chest, sending shivers up his spine._

_"Red?" he asked, nipping her neck._ Red...where did she get that name?

_"You never gave me your name."_

_"What?"_ _Why_ is she talking?

_"Um, I've never…uh…" He stiffened._ You're kidding! _He thought angrily._

_"Oh no," He muttered, not sure who he was referring to. He licked at her bite wound._ Probably traumatized her..._She shuddered from beneath him, pressing slightly against his...'problem'. He grasp her hips, keeping her as still as possible._ _"What do you want me to do about it?" He said, only slightly concerned. Annoyance was quickly overcoming him._

_"I don't know. I hear it hurts the first time. Maybe if you could be…uh, gentle?" Gaara groaned._ Gentle. This girl must really not know who she's dealing with...

_"Are you freaking kidding me?" He tried to keep from snarling at her, seeing as she might go through a mental breakdown. "Alright…just…heck I don't know. Go with your instincts." Gaara growled out, thinking it was the only 'help' he could offer._

_*end flashback*_

_She ended up doing a pretty good job that night..._He smirked at his thoughts, puffing a smoke ring into the night sky. _A _real_ good job..._

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOZ**

Sakura stared almsot distractingly at the wall in front of her, reliving that moment...behind that building...with some random stranger...

_I can't believe_ _I...I..._

_*flashback*_

_"Hi ya. Name's Shukaku. Ya got one, girly?"_

_Sakura gulped, eyes flashing around. Even though she wasn't trapped, she felt as if she were. Her breath began to speed up, warning her that she was about to experience a panic attack..._

_Until a calm, stable hand came down on her shoulder, returning her to her senses._

_Sakura looked up, eyes locking with his golden ones. "I said, ya got a name?"_

_"S-S-Sakura." She finally whispered out. _

_And everthing after that was a blur._

_She remembers his lips crashing against hers. Remembers him pressing her to a wall. Remembers his lips slowly decending down to her neck where he lapped at it like a cat. Remembers the shudders that went through her body as she felt his against her own. _

_And yet...she doesn't remember being afraid. After that initial jolt of fear...she had felt almost completely emotionless while around the golden boy._

_Shukaku did little more than kiss her, carass her through her clothes, and nibble at her ears. But she knew. She knew that he's trouble. That he's dangerous. _

_And that they will meet again._

_For whatever reason, at whatever time, Sakura knew, for absolute sure, that that was not the last time she will see this strange boy..._

Shukaku...

**Well, this one's long, but I'm not too sure about it. What do you guys think?**


	17. Author Note

**I sense that someone will hate me for this…**

**So, for the weekend I started rereading my FFs, judging, critiquing, but I really didn't get to far.**

**Why?**

**Well, there's been a great difference between my writing styles. See, normally I do first person and this was the first story I ever attempted to do third person.**

**And honestly, I don't feel as if I've mastered it enough to continue this story.**

**The idea of writing in third person is still too new to me and I can't keep in the same style. All during writing this, I kept going back to first person only having to rewrite a whole paragraph three or four times.**

**And now, after rereading what I've posted, I've decided that the annoyance really wasn't worth the quality. **

**There are**_** much**_** too many errors and I could be more descriptive here, less here. It's just all a jumbled mess of mediocrity. I'm embarrassed that I let people read such a weak draft of this. I had a pretty good start, or I think I did, but as the chapters went by things got too rushed and my story's suffering for that.**

**So, here's the part where everyone will hate me. As you can tell, I'd decided to discontinue this story until I can remake it and fix all the…errors. *shudder* I'll probably take it down after a few days…**

**Sorry you guys; I know you were into this…I just can't do it…**

**~Only if you wish it~**


End file.
